W.  H.  LOWDERMILK  &  CO., 
Standard.  Choice  and  Rare  Law  and 

Miscellaneous  Books, 

Government  Publications 

Washington,  D.  C. 


HISTORY 


THIRTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT 

MASSACHUSETTS  VOLUNTEERS, 

1 862- 1 86  j. 
WITH  A    ROSTER. 


A  COMMITTEE  OF  THE   REGIMENTAL  ASSOCIATION. 


BOSTON: 

MILLS,  KNIGHT  &  Co.,  PRINTERS,  115  CONGRESS  STREET. 
1884. 


E 


INTRODUCTION. 


r  I  ^HIS  narrative  was  prepared  by  the  committee 
whose  names  are  undersigned,  to  gratify  the  wish 
of  the  surviving  members  for  some  connected  account 
of  the  services  of  the  regiment,  to  exhibit  to  relatives 
and  friends,  and  to  provide  a  book  of  handy  reference 
for  their  own  convenience. 

All  the  descriptions  are  by  members  who  were  present 
at  the  scenes  described ;  imagination  has  no  part  in  the 
account. 

Criticisms  of  generalship  have  been  avoided  except 
where  it  was  necessary  to  allude  to  the  matter  to  explain 
the  spirit  prevailing  among  the  men.  Lists  of  wounded  in 
action  have  not  been  given  in  the  body  of  the  narrative ; 
to  obtain  accurate  lists  would  call  for  more  time  than  the 
Committee  could  devote  to  the  work. 

The    whole    story   of    Reno's    Brigade    is    told    in    the 

M198517 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

• 

"  History  of  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  Regiment," 
by  General  Charles  F.  Walcott,  whose  book  appeared  from 
the  press  while  this  was  in  preparation.  Upon  the  issue 
of  that  work,  it  seemed,  at  first,  hardly  worth  while  to 
proceed  with  this ;  but,  as  the  Twenty-First  was  not  with 
us  in  Mississippi,  and  General  Walcott,  although  admirably 
full  in  the  brigade  history,  does  not,  of  course,  cover  the 
internal  history  of  the  Thirty-Fifth,  it  was  thought  best  to 
go  on  with  this,  omitting  herein  most  of  the  general  orders, 
etc.,  given  in  that  book.  Of  course  every  member  of  the 
Thirty-Fifth  will  wish  to  possess,  if  he  have  not  already,  a 
copy  of  the  history  of  the  Twenty-First,  to  fill  up  the  story 
of  the  old  brigade,  and  a  copy  of  Rev.  Augustus  Wood- 
bury's  "  History  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps "  to  explain 
the  wider  movements. 

In  place  of  maps  and  illustrations,  material  for  which,  of 
merit  superior  to  any  we  could  obtain  without  great  ex 
pense,  is  within  reach  of  all,  we  have  inserted  between  the 
chapters  blank  pages,  upon  which  the  owner  can  attach 
such  photographs,  etc.,  as  may  be  in  his  possession,  and 
thus  add  a  personal  character  to  the  volume. 

A  regimental  history  must  lack  the  general  interest  of 
that  of  an  army,  while  it  misses  much  of  the  intense 
sympathy  called  forth  by  a  personal  narrative  ;  on  this 
account  it  may  appear,  after  all,  that  "the  half  has  not 


INTRODUCTION. 


been  told.7'  The  committee  will  feel  satisfied  if  the  mem 
bers  agree  that  even  a  quarter  part  has  found  its  way  into 
the  pages  of  this  book.. 


COMMITTEE: 


SUMNER  <Z^K9X^^  for  the  Field  and  Staff. 

THOMAS  E.  CUTTER      "  "  " 

EDMUND  F.   SNOW,    of  Company  A. 

GEORGE  W.  CREASEV,  "  "  B. 

EDMUND  A.  CAPEN,       "  "  C. 

JOHN  N.  MORSE,            "  "  D. 

HENRY  A.  MONK,          "  "  E. 

SOLOMON  D.  GRIMES.    "  "  F. 

CHRIS.  METZGER,           "  "  F. 

JOSEPH  C.  HARDY,         "  "  G. 

WALDO  TURNER,           "  "  H. 

JOHN  D.  COBB,              "  "  /. 

L  GEORGE  H.  NASON,       "  "  A". 


BOSTON,  January  i,  1884. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 
LYNNFIELD  AND  ARLINGTON  HEIGHTS,  1862,   .  i 


CHAPTER   II. 
MARYLAND  AND  BATTLE  OF  SOUTH  MOUNTAIN,  1862,    .        .      20 

CHAPTER   III. 
ANTIETAM,  1862, .        .        .35 

CHAPTER   IV. 

FALL    CAMPAIGN    IN    VIRGINIA  —  SKIRMISH    AT    FAUQUIER 

WHITE  SULPHUR  SPRINGS,  1862, 60 

CHAPTER   V. 
FREDERICKSBURG,  AND  WINTER  NEAR  FALMOUTH,  1862-1863,      79 

CHAPTER   VI. 
NEWPORT  NEWS,  VA.,  AND  SPRING  IN  KENTUCKY,  1863,       .     104 

CHAPTER   VII. 
MIDSUMMER  IN  MISSISSIPPI — VICKSBURG  AND  JACKSON,  1863,     129 


viii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

WINTER  IN  EAST  TENNESSEE— CAMPBELL'S  STATION  AND 
KNOXVILLE,  1863-1864, 

CHAPTER   IX. 

VIRGINIA  AGAIN —  WILDERNESS  CAMPAIGN,  1864,  217 


CHAPTER   X. 

SIEGE  OF  PETERSBURG  — THE  MINE,  1864, 


CHAPTER   XL 
WELDON  RAILROAD  AND  POPLAR  SPRING  CHURCH,  1864,      .     283 

CHAPTER   XII. 

WINTER  QUARTERS,  1864-1865— "  FORT  HELL,"  •    310 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
LIFE  IN  THE  PRISON-PENS,  1864-1865,      .        .  329 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
THE  END  OF  THE  WAR,  1865,    . 

ROSTER. 


CHAPTER    I. 

LYNNFIELD   AND    ARLINGTON    HEIGHTS,    1862. 

THE  famous  Seven  Days'  fighting  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  under  General  McClellan,  before  Rich 
mond,  ended  July  i,  1862.  During  the  hot  days  of  that 
long  summer,  the  stayers-at-home  read  with  the  deepest 
interest  of  the  "  Change  of  Base  "  to  the  James  River,  or 
listened  to  the  living  story  from  the  lips  of  some  wounded 
hero.  Whether  the  movement  was  to  be  considered  a 
success  or  a  defeat,  this  at  least  was  clear,  that  the  army 
must  be  heavily  reenforced ;  and,  accordingly,  President 
Lincoln  called  for  three  hundred  thousand  volunteers  for 
three  years.  Governor  Andrew  issued  an  official  address, 
dated  July  2,  stating  the  pressing  need  for  more  troops  and 
the  terms  of  enlistment,  and  ending  with  these  words  : 
"Massachusetts,  which  has  never  slumbered  nor  slept, 
must  now  arise  to  still  higher  efforts,  and  pledge  to  all 
the  duties  of  patriotism,  with  renewed  devotion,  the  indi 
vidual  efforts,  the  united  hearts,  heads  and  hands  of  all 
her  people."  To  many  hearts  this  summons  came  with  a 
solemn  power  that  could  not  be  resisted. 

Among  the  regiments  formed  of  the  men  who  enlisted 
in  answer  to  this  call  was  the  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts 
Volunteer  Infantry. 

The  first  mention  of  the  regiment  which  we  have  found 
is  contained  in  the  following  advertisement,  which  appeared 
in  the  Boston  Journal,  under  date  of  the  fourth  of  July  :  — 


:!»":  \':-*HIS*ifRYtQV»TH.E   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

"  Attention,  Recruits  I  A  few  more  good  men  are  wanted 
to  fill  up  Captain  Andrews'  Company,  Fort  Warren  Bat 
talion.  Under  the  last  urgent  call  of  the  President,  this 
battalion  will  probably  be  increased  and  make  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  Regiment,  so  that  there  will  be  a  chance  for  actual 
service.  The  following  inducements  are  offered  to  all 
wishing  to  enlist : 

"  $25  bounty  in  advance  ;  also, 
"  $13,  one  month's  pay  in  advance  ; 
"  $12  per  month  State  aid  ;  and 
"  $75  bounty  at  close  of  war. 

"Men  of  Massachusetts,  citizens,  patriots,  rally  under 
the  glorious  flag  of  our  country.  Let  the  Old  Bay  State 
lead  the  van.  Let  our  people  rush  forth  in  their  might. 
Let  us  swell  the  Union  ranks,  and  maintain  our  proud 
position,  that  Massachusetts  is  ever  foremost  when  duty 
calls. 

"Apply  at  once  to  the  Recruiting  Offices,  No.  71  Union 
Street,  Boston,  or  corner  of  Park  and  School  Streets, 
Chelsea." 

Another  notice,  dated  the  fifth,  began  as  follows  :  "  Fall 
in,  Recruits  I  Captain  Dolan,  Lieutenants  Baldwin  and 
Hudson  are  rapidly  filling  their  company  with  first-class 
recruits  for  duty  at  Fort  Warren  ; "  and,  after  giving  the 
terms  as  above,  it  adds :  "  Our  country's  call  must  be 
obeyed ;  her  necessities  must  be  our  first  and  only  con 
sideration  now  ;  she  needs  every  one  of  her  sons  to  defend 
her  holy  cause,  and  the  sooner  you  are  ready  to  aid  her 
the  sooner  will  her  cause  be  gained.  This  battalion  will 
probably  be  recruited  to  the  Thirty-Fifth  Regiment,  and 
go  to  the  seat  of  war."  Thus,  by  the  system  of  general 
recruiting,  was  begun  the  formation  of  companies  A  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  3 

D  of  the  Thirty-Fifth ;  but  the  organization  of  the  regi 
ment  did  not  begin  until  a  month  later. 

The  Government  apportioned  the  number  of  men  called 
for  among  the  loyal  States  according  to  population,  and 
the  State  divided  its  quota  among  the  cities  and  towns 
according  to  the  last  annual  return  of  men  liable  to  do 
military  duty  under  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth.  As 
soon  as  the  quotas  were  announced,  each  municipality 
devoted  its  energies  to  finding,  enlisting  and  forwarding 
the  men  to  camp.  Every  motive  was  appealed  to,  and  all 
sorts  of  inducements  offered  to  the  able-bodied  men  of  the 
community  to  enlist.  Patriotism  was  aroused  by  eloquent 
orators ;  emotions  were  stirred  by  music,  banners,  pro 
cessions  and  grand  rallies  of  the  people ;  and  thus  excite 
ment  was  kept  constantly  ablaze.  In  many  places  bounties 
were  offered  in  addition  to  those  above  mentioned,  and 
promises  of  private  aid  to  families  were  frequent.  This 
continued  through  July,  and  about  the  first  of  August  most 
of  the  three  years'  volunteers  were  ready  for  camp. 

In  the  cities  and  larger  towns  full  companies  were  formed 
from  the  quotas,  and  fellow  citizens  were  selected  for  offi 
cers.  The  companies  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  formed  in  this  way 
were :  B,  from  Newburyport ;  C,  from  Chelsea  ;  G,  from 
Haverhill ;  H,  from  Weymouth ;  and  K  from  Roxbury. 
The  quotas  of  smaller  places  united  and  formed  com 
panies  under  officers  of  their  preference  ;  thus  were  made 
up  companies :  E,  from  Randolph,  Stoughton,  etc. ;  F, 
from  Rockport,  Danvers,  North  Andover,  etc. ;  and  I  from 
Dedham,  Weston,  Needham,  etc.  The  following  extract 
from  the  "  Memorial  of  Major  Park  "  will  serve  as  an  ex 
ample  of  the  superior  class  of  men  obtained  at  this  time  : 

"The  permit  to  recruit  the  company,  K,  was  accom 
panied  with  a  condition,  '  provided  it  could  be  done  in  six 


4  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

days.'  In  five  days  they  had  enrolled  one  hundred  and 
fifty  names,  from  whom  to  select  the  one  hundred  and 
one.  Eighty  of  those  who  finally  composed  the  company 
were  between  twenty  and  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and  but 
two  were  over  forty.  About  one-half  of  the  company  were 
married  men.  All  signed  their  names  in  clear,  legible 
handwriting.  More  than  forty  of  them  had  been  graduates 
of  the  Washington  Public  School  at  Roxbury.  Thirteen 
were  teachers  in  a  Sunday  School." 

The  camp  for  recruits  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State 
was  located  at  Lynnfield,  in  Essex  County,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  railroad,  and  bordering  on  Humphrey's  Pond, 
now  called  Suntaug  Lake,  and  was  named  Camp  Stanton 
after  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  steep  slope  towards  the 
water  was  shaded  by  a  heavy  growth  of  pine  trees,  and 
the  pond  offered  facilities  for  bathing  and  washing.  Two 
companies  of  the  Thirty-Second  Regiment  and  the  Thirty- 
Third  Regiment  occupied  the  east  part  of  the  field,  and  a 
battery  the  west  end.  Men  enlisted  for  the  Thirty-Fifth 
were  at  first  quartered  about  the  middle,  near  the  cottage, 
used  as  a  surgeon's  office,  etc.,  and  the  barn  used  for  a 
guard-house.  They  occupied  wall  tents,  "A"  tents,  or  old 
militia  tents,  and  in  consideration  of  their  delicacy  were 
furnished  with  straw  to  lie  upon,  but  no  blankets  until 
accepted  for  service.  Food  was  served  from  cook-houses, 
under  direction  of  Mr.  Haines,  then  of  the  Thirty-Second 
Regiment,  subsequently  quartermaster  of  the  Thirty-Fifth ; 
but  as  the  ration,  though  ample,  seemed  to  most  of  the  men 
coarse  and  unpalatable,  they  procured  additional  eatables 
from  home  or  outside  the  camp.  Squads  for  companies 
A,  D  and  the  combination  companies  were  the  first  upon 
the  ground,  towards  the  end  of  July.  The  full  companies 
arrived  nearly  together :  Company  C  on  the  fourth  of 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  5 

August,  G  and  K  on  the  fifth,  B  and  H  on  the  eighth. 
Camp  guards  around  the  field  were  maintained  from  the 
first,  and  passes  were  required  to  get  in  or  out  of  the 
rather  crowded  enclosure. 

The  enlisted  men  before  going  to  Lynnfield  passed  a 
preliminary  examination  of  their  physical  qualifications,  to 
prevent  loss  of  expenses  upon  rejected  men.  Upon  arrival 
in  camp  they  were  again,  and  more  thoroughly,  inspected 
by  the  surgeons.  It  was  amusing  afterwards  to  recall  how 
much  the  men  dreaded  rejection  and  the  loss  of  the  chance 
for  actual  service  promised  in  the  advertisement  above. 
The  recruit  was  stripped,  pounded  on  the  chest,  made  to 
walk  and  hop,  had  his  ears  pulled,  eyes  and  teeth  exam 
ined,  and  was  otherwise  tortured,  until  he  had  shown  his 
paces,  and  was  then  accepted  or  rejected  summarily.  Few 
were  rejected.  If  accepted,  the  next  thing  in  order  was 
his  uniform.  He  went  to  the  quartermaster's  office ;  a 
gray,  woollen  blanket,  marked  U.  S.,  was  spread  upon  the 
floor,  into  which  were  tossed  a  light-blue  overcoat,  rubber 
blanket,  cap,  dress  coat,  blouse,  trousers,  shoes,  socks, 
drawers,  shirts,  knapsack,  haversack,  canteen,  tin  dipper, 
plate  and  knife  and  fork.  The  four  corners  of  the  blanket 
were  brought  together,  and  the  man  was  ordered  to  shoulder 
the  bundle  and  betake  himself  to  his  tent,  shed  his  citizen's 
dress,  and  assume  the  appearance  of  a  soldier.  The  mate 
rials  of  the  articles  were  good,  but  of  a  very  coarse  texture, 
suited  to  the  rough  usage  of  the  field.  There  were  four 
sizes  of  most  of  the  clothing,  and  he  whom  none  of  these 
fitted  was  obliged  to  fit  himself  to  the  size.  Some  of  the 
companies  last  to  arrive  fell  short  of  a  full  uniform,  and 
were  not  supplied  until  after  their  arrival  at  the  front. 

A  few  of  the  men  had  experience  as  soldiers,  in  the 
militia  or  in  actual  service  ;  these  were  the  heroes  of  the 
hour.  Most  of  the  recruits  were  somewhat  acquainted 


6  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

with  the  manual  of  arms  and  company  drill,  acquired  in 
the  many  drill  companies  which  the  excitement  of  the  war 
had  originated.  As  soon  as  sergeants  and  corporals  of 
companies  were  appointed,  these  exercises  were  practised 
as  opportunity  offered.  There  were  several  dress  parades 
and  guard  mountings  by  portions  of  the  regiment,  and  one 
battalion  drill  under  Adjutant  Wales,  on  the  twentieth,  in 
marching  in  line  of  battle. 

The  commissioned  officers  had  little  time  to  attend  to 
these  matters.  They  were  fully  occupied  in  filling  up  their 
companies,  settling  their  private  affairs,  and  making  need 
ful  preparations;  and,  in  addition,  they  were  burdened 
with  an  amount  of  clerical  work  —  the  red  tape  system  of 
a  time  of  peace  —  sufficient  to  last  a  month.  A  person 
inexperienced  in  military  affairs  has  little  notion  of  the 
amount  of  writing  to  be  done  in  the  formation  and  man 
agement  of  a  regiment.  There  are  reports  and  rolls  of 
all  sorts  —  daily,  monthly,  bi-monthly,  quarterly  and  annu 
ally —  relating  to  the  men,  their  descriptions,  bounties, 
pay,  rations,  ordnance,  clothing,  camp  and  garrison  equi 
page,  muster-in,  muster-out,  furloughs,  etc.,  ad  infinitum, 
to  the  Government,  State  and  town  authorities:  all  to  be 
studied  out  and  prepared  in  good  style  and  with  unfailing 
accuracy.  The  school  of  the  army  is  a  school  of  much 
penmanship,  as  well  as  other  learning.  Their  care  also 
was  that  their  best  men  did  not  become  impatient  and 
enlist  in  some  other  organization,  to  get  sooner  to  the 
front,  or  that  their  worst  men  did  not  run  the  guards  to 
secure  another  bounty.  For  no  sooner  was  the  call  for 
three  years'  men  nearly  filled  than  another  call  was  issued 
for  men  for  nine  months'  service,  and,  in  addition  to  the 
shorter  term,  there  was  the  attraction  of  a  double  bounty. 
The  mercenary  class  at  once  saw  the  advantage  and  tried 
to  exchange ;  the  patriot  class,  especially  those  having 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  7 

families,  grimly  endured,  while  they  felt  the  inequality  of 
treatment ;  among  the  survivors  it  needs  but  little  rubbing 
to  find  a  sore  spot  there  still.  The  men  were  generally 
allowed  a  short  furlough,  to  close  up  their  home  affairs 
and  take  leave  of  relatives  and  friends ;  so  that,  upon  the 
whole,  it  is  remarkable  that  so  much  information  concern 
ing  the  new  sphere  of  life  was  acquired  in  so  short  a  time ; 
but  all  were  eager  to  learn,  and  worked  laboriously  day 
and  night. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  August  the  Thirty-Third  Regiment 
left  for  the  seat  of  war,  and,  after  the  ground  had  been 
swept,  the  Thirty-Fifth  moved  into  the  Sibley  tents  thus 
vacated.  Companies  took  their  places  in  regular  order 
according  to  the  army  regulations  and  seniority  of  captains, 
from  right  to  left,  as  follows  : 

Right,  — A,  D,  E,  F,  B,  G,  C,  H,  I,  K,  —  Left, 

and  the  regiment  assumed  an  organized  appearance.  The 
members  began  to  get  acquainted  with  each  other  and 
their  officers,  and  learned  the  lettering  of  the  companies. 
It  will  be  noticed  that,  as  far  as  possible,  the  letters  of  the 
companies  correspond  with  the  initial  letter  of  the  surname 
of  the  captain  commanding,  as  follows  : 

Co.  A,    Capt.  Andrews,  Lieuts.  Hood  and  Stickney. 

"  B,  "  Bartlett,  "  Hodges  "  Collins. 

"  C,  "  Cheever,  "  Blanchard  "  Mirick. 

"  D,  "  Dolan,  "  Baldwin  "  Hudson. 

"  E,  "  Niles,  "  Palmer  "  Ingell. 

"  F,  "  Oliver,  "  Preston  "  Williams. 

"  G,  "  Gibson,  "  Brooks  "  Washburn. 

"  H,  t    "  Pratt,  "  Lyon  "  Burrell. 

"  I,  "  Willard,  "  Lathrop  "  Hill. 

"  K,  "  King,  "  Park  "  Blake. 


8  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

In  this  list,  and  in  other  cases  hereafter,  when,  to  avoid 
repetition,  the  names  of  members  of  the  regiment  are  not 
given  in  full,  they  may  be  found  by  reference  to  the  roster. 

The  field  and  staff  officers  were :  Colonel,  Edward  A. 
Wild,  of  Brookline ;  Major,  Sumner  Carruth,  of  Chelsea ; 
Adjutant,  Nathaniel  Wales,  of  Dorchester ;  Surgeon,  Fran 
cis  M.  Lincoln,  of  Boston ;  Assistant  Surgeons,  George 
N.  Munsell,  of  Harwich,  and  Albert  W.  Clark,  of  Woburn ; 
Chaplain,  Henry  F.  H.  Miller,  of  Norton ;  Quartermaster, 
Samuel  W.  Haines,  of  Newburyport;  Sergeant -Major, 
Augustus  Hatch,  of  Boston  ;  Quartermaster  -  Sergeant, 
Albert  F.  Upton,  of  Boston ;  Commissary-Sergeant,  Edwin 
N.  Merrill,  of  Haverhill ;  Hospital  Steward,  George  F. 
Wood,  of  Plymouth  ;  Principal  Musician,  Daniel  Vining, 
of  Weymouth.  The  regiment  never  had  a  band  attached, 
although  an  attempt  to  recruit  one  was  made  at  Lynnfield  ; 
it  depended  for  music  upon  brigade  bands,  its  own  drum 
corps,  or  Company  K's  Glee  Club,  which  furnished  excel 
lent  vocal  music,  associated  with  many  scenes  both  of  the 
solemn  and  of  the  festive  kind. 

Colonel  Wild  had  served  as  captain  of  Company  A  of 
the  First  Massachusetts  Regiment,  in  Hooker's  Division, 
at  Blackburn's  Ford,  Bull  Run,  in  Lower  Maryland,  and 
on  the  Peninsula.  He  had  been  wounded  before  Rich 
mond,  and  was  assigned  at  first  to  the  Thirty-Second  Reg 
iment  as  major,  then  to  the  command  of  Camp  Stanton, 
and  afterwards  to  the  Thirty-Fifth.  He  started  with  us 
for  the  front  carrying  his  arm  in  a  sling. 

Major  Carruth,  previously  Captain  of  Company  H,  First 
Massachusetts,  had  the  same  military  experience  with  our 
colonel,  and  had  also  returned  home  wounded  (his  arm 
shattered  at  Fair  Oakes),  to  be  promoted  to  our  regiment. 
After  Colonel  Wild's  promotion,  he  continued  to  be  our 
permanent  commander  to  the  end  of  the  war.  No  lieutenant- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  9 

colonel  was  appointed  at  Lynnfield.  Adjutant  Wales  had 
served  in  the  Twenty-Fourth  Massachusetts  Regiment, 
under  Colonel  Stevenson. 

Of  the  line  officers,  Captain  Andrews  had  seen  service 
in  the  West ;  Captain  Bartlett  had  been  Captain  of  Com 
pany  A,  Eighth  Massachusetts,  with  Lieutenants  Hodges 
and  Collins  among  his  lieutenants ;  Captain  Niles  had 
held  the  same  rank  in  Company  D,  Fourth  Massachusetts, 
with  Lieutenant  Palmer  among  his  corporals ;  Captain 
Gibson  had  been  first  sergeant  of  Company  A,  First 
Massachusetts,  and  Lieutenant  Washburn  had  been  a 
member  of  the  same  company ;  Captain  Oliver  had  expe 
rience  in  the  Fourteenth  Massachusetts,  and  Lieutenant 
Lyon  in  Company  H  of  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts ;  Ser 
geant-Major  Hatch  had. been  a  sergeant  of  Company  B, 
First  Massachusetts,  and  afterwards  a  second-lieutenant 
in  a  New  York  regiment.  Experienced  soldiers  were  few 
in  the  Thirty-Fifth,  and  no  member  had  received  a  West 
Point  education. 

The  men  being  assembled  and  clothed,  the  next  duty 
was  the  "  muster-in  "  of  the  companies.  This  ceremony 
was  performed  in  detail,  from  the  ninth  to  the  nineteenth 
of  August,  by  Lieutenant  Elder  of  the  United  States  Army. 
Standing  in  line  the  roll  was  called,  each  man  responding 
to  his  name,  then  the  oath  was  administered :  "  You  do 
solemnly  swear  that  you  will  bear  true  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  that  you  will  serve  them 
faithfully  and  honestly  against  all  their  enemies  or  opposers 
whomsoever,  and  observe  and  obey  the  orders  of  the  Pres 
ident  of  the  United  States,  and  the  orders  of  the  officers 
appointed  over  yoft,  according  to  the  rules  and  articles  for 
the  government  of  armies  of  the  United  States.  So  help 
you  God." 

Few  of  the  officers  and  men  had   ever  seen  the  blue 


JO  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

book  containing  the  United  States  army  regulations,  and 
most  never  acquired  more  than  a  cursory  knowledge  of  its 
contents ;  but  they  took  the  oath,  trusting  to  be  able  to 
comply  with  the  intention,  if  not  the  letter  of  it.  The  term 
of  service  was  "for  three  years  or  during  the  war"  —  lan 
guage  open  to  misconstruction ;  the  Government  claiming 
the  words  to  include  an  enlistment  for  the  whole  war,  the 
men  that  it  was  for  three  years  if  the  war  should  last  so 
long.  The  war  ended  during  the  third  year  of  the  regi 
ment's  term  of  service. 

On  the  twentieth  the  arms  were  distributed.  These 
were  nine  hundred  and  sixty  Enfield  rifles  of  English 
make.  They  were  somewhat  defective,  the  cones  being 
too  much  case-hardened  and  quite  brittle,  so  that  a  large 
number  were  turned  into  the  Washington  Arsenal  within 
three  weeks ;  nevertheless,  so  great  was  the  scarcity  of 
weapons  at  the  time,  the  regiment  was  thought  very  for 
tunate  to  get  them.  The  different  belts,  plates  and  boxes, 
constituting  the  accoutrements,  were  given  out  at  the  same 
time,  or  upon  the  following  day.  Some  twenty  thousand 
rounds  of  ammunition  were  drawn  in  Boston,  but  none 
were  distributed ;  nor  were  any  experiments  tried  to  test 
the  power  of  the  rifles. 

Being  now  fully  armed  and  equipped,  it  was  supposed 
that  a  few  days  at  least  of  camp  duty  and  drill  would  be 
allowed  before  active  service ;  the  demand,  however,  for 
more  troops  at  Washington  was  so  imperative  no  delay 
could  be  permitted,  and,  much  to  the  disappointment  of 
the  men  and  grief  of  their  friends,  orders  were  received  to 
proceed  immediately  to  the  front,  and  the  regiment  started 
accordingly  on  the  twenty-second  of  August — Friday. 

There  had  been  little  sleep  the  previous  night ;  it  was  a 
rainy  morning,  and  falling  into  regimental  line  in  the  mud 
was  not  pleasant.  In  addition  to  the  burden  of  clothing, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  II 

equipments,  arms  and  rations  furnished  by  the  Govern 
ment,  each  man  had  tried  to  include  in  his  pack  a  private 
assortment  of  writing  cases,  revolvers,  toilet  articles,  water 
filters,  Bibles  and  other  books,  and  a  general  assortment 
of  such  medicines  or  comforts  as  he  or  his  friends  could 
suggest ;  and  now,  having  by  the  aid  of  his  companions 
slung  the  mass  upon  his  back,  was  deliberating  upon  the 
question  how  far  it  would  be  possible  to  struggle  along  un 
der  it  all.  But  patience  and  endurance  are  the  first  lessons 
of  a  soldier  ;  so,  while  waiting  for  the  cars,  the  men,  dread 
ing  the  task  of  reslinging  and  hooking  their  knapsacks,  and 
having  no  dry  spot  to  drop  them  upon,  amused  themselves 
chaffing  each  other's  loads,  and  devising  ways  of  propping 
them  up  with  their  rifles  to  relieve  their  shoulders.  That 
regimental  line  of  one  thousand  and  thirteen  men  looked 
a  mile  long  ;  it  was  our  "  Old  Thirty-Fifth." 

One  o'clock  came  before  the  long  train  filled  with  blue 
coats  started  for  Boston,  by  way  of  Salem.  Arrived  in 
the  city,  the  regiment  marched  by  the  right  flank  through 
Blackstone  and  North  Streets,  Merchants  Row,  State,  Court, 
Tremont  and  Beacon  Streets  to  the  State  House,  cheered 
and  cheering  as  we  went — another  regiment  off  to  the  war! 
At  the  State  House  all  looked  for  Governor  Andrew  —  no 
departure  without  his  consecrating  words  seemed  in  due 
form  —  but  he  was  otherwise  engaged ;  so  hurriedly  receiv 
ing  a  blue  silk  regimental  flag  and  the  small,  white,  State 
flag  the  march  was  resumed.  The  blue  flag  bore  the  arms 
of  the  United  States,  with  the  motto  E  pluribus  unum,  in 
token  that  we  were  to  bear  it  in  the  cause  of  the  Union, 
one  and  indivisible.  The  white  flag  was  emblazoned  with 
the  State  arms,  the  uplifted  sword,  and  the  motto  Ense 
petit placidam  sub  libertate  quietetn,  signifying  that  we  drew 
the  sword  to  gain  enduring  peace  in  a  free  land.  They 
were  good  words  to  fight  under.  A  national  flag,  the  stars 


12  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  stripes,  was  not  received  until  many  months  after 
wards. 

Relatives  and  friends  crowded  the  way  for  parting  words, 
as  we  hastened  on  to  the  Old  Colony  Railway  Station.  It 
was  an  exciting  time.  Into  the  cars  we  jammed,  some 
sick,  some  pale  with  sorrow,  some  roaring  with  laughter, 
others  shouting  a  last  farewell  to  friends  —  a  perfect  pan 
demonium —  as  the  engine  fastened  on  and  the  heavy 
train  moved  slowly  out  of  the  station. 

"  Swift  as  the  summons  came  they  left 
The  plow  mid-furrow  standing  still, 
The  half  ground  corn-grist  in  the  mill, 
The  spade  in  earth,  the  axe  in  cleft ; 
They  went  where  duty  seemed  to  call,  — 
....  They  only  knew  they  could  but  die, 
And  death  was  not  the  worst  of  all." 

We  left  Boston  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  and  reaching 
Fall  River  about  ten  o'clock  went  on  board  the  steamboat 
Bay  State.  Every  carpet  had  been  taken  up,  all  furniture 
removed,  and  there  were  no  beds  in  the  berths.  Men 
turned  in  on  the  slats  in  the  main  and  in  the  ladies'  cabin ; 
that  is,  those  who  could  get  there.  The  officers  had  state 
rooms,  with  beds  but  no  blankets,  and  only  one  sheet. 
The  rest  found  space  upon  the  decks  to  spread  blankets, 
although  some  hesitated  to  unroll  the  packs  put  together 
so  carefully ;  but  most  were  soon  drowning  their  cares  in 
sleep.  One  Walsh,  an  old  marine,  with  wits  enlivened  by 
whiskey,  gave  to  the  wakeful  ones  a  spirited  free  exhibition 
of  the  bayonet  drill,  dancing  about  and  whirling  his  rifle, 
bayonet  fixed,  over  the  sleepers.  The  boat  arrived  at 
Jersey  City  at  ten  in  the  morning,  and  by  noon  we  were 
on  the  way  across  New  Jersey  to  Philadelphia,  reaching 
there  about  six  in  the  evening. 

Our  reception  in  Philadelphia  was  most  cordial ;  greater 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  13 

hospitality  was  never  experienced.  The  regiment  was 
entertained  at  the  far-famed  Cooper's  Shop.  All  Eastern 
soldiers  remember  with  gratitude  this  welcome  oasis  be 
tween  their  homes  and  the  front ;  a  little  of  the  accustomed 
properly  cooked  food,  spread  upon  neatly  arranged  tables, 
was  relished  exceedingly;  and  with  the  Thirty -Fifth  the 
saying,  "  As  nice  as  the  Philadelphia  Cooper's  Shop," 
long  endured  as  a  standard  of  superlative  comparison. 

Summary  justice  was  dealt  out  by  the  colonel's  orders 
to  the  stealthy  venders  of  whiskey.  Company  K,  with 
details  from  other  companies,  was  ordered  to  clean  out 
rum  shops,  kept  open  to  soldiers  contrary  to  orders; 
bottles,  demijohns,  etc.,  were  soon  emptied  of  their  con 
tents.  The  colonel  thus  describes  the  affair : 

"  In  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Union  Volunteer 
Refreshment  Saloon,  where  we  were  supplied  with  a  meal 
by  the  hospitality  of  the  citizens,  there  is  a  large  number 
of  drinking  shops,  which  have  been  a  pest  to  every  regi 
ment  passing  through.  I  personally  ordered  the  proprietor 
of  each  establishment  to  sell  no  liquor  to  my  men,  warning 
him  of  consequences,  and  at  the  same  time  setting  a  guard 
at  his  door.  Soon  after,  detecting  them  enticing  men  in 
at  back  doors  to  drink  and  fill  canteens,  I  ordered  the 
stock  to  be  cleaned  out  at  two  places,  a  hotel  and  a  saloon. 
The  order  was  summarily  and  thoroughly  carried  out  by 
my  men.  No  serious  personal  violence  was  committed, 
although  we  had  occasion  to  overawe  a  large  party  of 
zouaves  and  other  bullies.  The  police  followed  me  with 
two  writs  of  arrest,  which  I  declined  to  accede  to,  but 
warned  them  that  if  they  caused  us  any  delay  I  should  be 
obliged  to  take  aldermen  and  all  with  me  to  Washington. 
All  this  not  from  any  wanton  disrespect  for  municipal  law, 
but  on  the  ground  that  in  time  of  armed  rebellion  the  exi- 


14  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

gencies  of  the  military  service  .must  take   precedence   of 
all  else." 

Marching  through  the  city  to  take  the  cars  for  Baltimore, 
about  nine  in  the  evening,  Company  K  brought  up  the 
rear  with  fixed  bayonets.  The  people  along  the  route 
turned  out  to  a  man,  woman  and  baby.  "  Good  bye ! " 
"God  bless  you  !  "  "Come  back  safe  !  "  were  the  constant 
exclamations.  Women  brought  out  water,  and  did  all  they 
could  to  make  the  men  comfortable  ;  in  fact,  it  was  quite 
an  ovation.  Before  getting  into  the  cars  all  canteens  were 
examined,  and  drinks  stronger  than  water  were  emptied 
into  the  gutter. 

Packed  in  the  cars  the  men  tried  to  sleep  sitting  erect 
amid  the  racket,  but  it  was  a  restless  effort.  The  riotous 
reception  of  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  Regiment  in  Balti 
more  a  year  before  was  still  fresh  in  our  thoughts,  and 
in  the  excited  state  of  the  popular  mind  we  looked  for 
some  active  demonstrations  of  unfriendly  feeling;  but,  on 
the  contrary,  the  regiment  marched  quietly  through  the 
city  before  the  people  had  fairly  awakened  from  their 
Sunday  morning  naps.  Now  and  then  a  small  flag  would 
be  waved ;  but  generally  the  people  whom  we  met  stared 
with  indifference,  or,  at  the  worst,  with  sinister  looks  only : 
we  had  had  our  row  with  the  roughs  of  Philadelphia.  After 
a  breakfast  at  the  Soldier's  Rest,  box  cars  with  rough,  pine 
benches  were  filled  inside  and  upon  the  roofs,  about  eleven 
o'clock ;  and  now,  as  Uncle  Sam's  cattle,  we  jolted  on 
towards  Washington,  through  hot  and  dusty  Maryland. 
At  Baltimore  things  had  first  taken  a  noticeably  foreign 
look  ;  the  windows  about  the  station  were  crowded  with 
woolly  heads  and  black  faces,  with  wondering  eyes,  while 
some  of  the  dark  hued,  Indian-looking  whites  who  strolled 
among  us  we  deemed  to  be  spies  in  the  enemy's  service. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  15 

We  reached  Washington  about  two  in  the  afternoon, 
August  24,  and  went  at  first  to  the  barracks  near  the 
Capitol,  where  another  meal  was  offered  —  a  feed  this 
time,  not  a  collation,  and  further  proof  that  we  were  now 
to  be  classed  as  Government  live  stock  —  the  slop-coffee 
in  wooden  buckets,  and  old  boiled  horse,  could  not  be 
stomached ;  some,  however,  worried  down  a  crust  of  sour 
bread  buttered  with  patriotic  words :  it  went  down  hard, 
nevertheless.  But  when  at  five  o'clock  the  regiment  formed 
column,  platoon  front,  with  full  ranks,  and  marched  down 
the  grand  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  drums  beating  and  colors 
flying,  the  soldier's  pride  in  his  regiment  awakened,  and 
we  stepped  off  cheerily,  and  did  our  best  to  keep  the  lines 
exact  and  distances  correct.  Nevertheless,  when  the  avenue 
was  passed  and  the  drums  stopped  it  seemed  as  if  our 
legs  would  stop  also. 

The  Thirty-Fifth  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Brig 
adier-General  Casey,  and  ordered  to  camp  beyond  Arlington 
Heights.  We  kept  on  by  the  White  House,  and  crossed 
the  Potomac  River  above  at  Georgetown,  on  the  Aqueduct 
Bridge,  and  came  down  again  on  the  further  bank.  As  we 
stepped  off  the  bridge  upon  the  "sacred  soil "  of  Old  Vir 
ginia,  some  one  struck  up  the  song  of  "Old  John  Brown," 
in  which  the  whole  column  joined ;  then,  mindful  that  it 
was  Sunday  evening,  they  followed  with  psalm  tunes,  and 
the  Arlington  Hills  echoed  to  the  old  Puritan  music. 
Darkness  and  dust  together  swallowed  us  up,  and  still  the 
column  kept  on.  Some  of  the  officers  continued  the  reg 
ular  orders,  "Right — shoulder — shift!  Left  —  shoulder  — 
shift!  "  but  the  weary  men  carried  their  guns  anyhow,  and 
darkness  concealed  the  delinquency.  The  heat  and  fatigue 
began  to  tell,  and  some  stragglers  appeared ;  the  column 
began  to  lose  shape.  We  struck  the  road  from  the  Long 
Bridge  to  Hunter's  Chapel,  and  turning  sharply  to  the 


1 6  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

right  pushed  along,  encouraged  by  the  words,  "  Only  half 
a  mile  more,  boys  !  "  repeated  ad  nauseam.  At  Hunter's 
Chapel  the  regiment  turned  into  a  field  on  the  left,  and 
got  orders  to  stack  arms  and  rest  for  the  night ;  the 
suddenness  with  which  knapsacks  were  unslung  was  very 
observable.  A  few  gathered  rails  for  fires  and  roasted 
green  corn,  but  most,  worn  out,  wrapped  themselves  in 
blankets  and  slept  with  the  ashes-like  soil  of  the  Old 
Dominion  for  a  bed  and  a  knapsack  or  cartridge  box  for 
a  pillow. 

Such  a  looking  set  as  we  were  on  awakening !  stiff  and 
sore,  daubed  with  dust,  the  newness  gone  from  the  uni 
forms,  —  a  sorry  sight  indeed.  Ah !  pity  the  sorrows  of 
the  raw  recruit  while  being  broken  in — yet  a  dry  bed,  a 
warm  night,  and  sleep  undisturbed  are  three  of  the  soldier's 
luxuries.  We  found  our  bivouac  to  be  nearly  opposite 
Hunter's  Chapel,  in  advance  of  Forts  Craig  and  Rich 
ardson,  on  the  Columbia  Turnpike,  and  upon  ground 
occupied  the  previous  winter  by  Blenker's  Division  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  The  men  lay  about  resting  and 
cleaning  up  all  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth,  and 
receiving  a  lot  of  "A"  tents,  by  the  energetic  efforts  of 
Quartermaster  Haines,  pitched  them  in  regular  camp 
further  to  the  south  of  the  road,  calling  the  spot  Camp 
Casey.  A  few  cartridges  were  distributed  and  instruction 
given  in  loading  with  the  minie  ball,  a  new  thing  then, 
calibre  .577, 

Next  day  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  transferred  to  the  command 
of  General  Whipple,  and  by  him  (on  the  thirtieth)  assigned 
to  Van  Volkenburg's  Brigade ;  drill  was  commenced,  and 
an  order  of  camp  duty  issued.  At  leisure  moments  the 
pedlers'  carts  drew  swarms,  eager  to  obtain  watermelons 
and  peaches  in  exchange  for  sticky  postage-stamps,  of 
which  every  one  carried  a  wad  in  his  pocket,  for  gold  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  17 

silver  money  had  disappeared  when  the  greenbacks  were 
issued.  Others  wandered  off  to  see  the  neighboring  forts, 
or  bathe  in  the  creek  in  front,  or  inspect  the  corduroy 
roads  or  mud  huts  of  last  winter,  now  covered  with  rank 
grass ;  and  some  mused  over  the  white  railing  of  the  little 
cemetery,  and  read  the  strange  German  names  of  those  of 
Blenker's  men  who,  thus  early  in  the  war,  had  found  rest 
here. 

On  the  same  day  (twenty-sixth)  we  broke  camp  and 
retired  about  half  a  mile  to  within  the  line  of  the  forts. 
Tents  were  again  pitched  between  the  Turnpike  and  Fort 
Craig,  the  officers'  tents  being  among  peach  trees,  and  the 
place  designated  Camp  Whipple.  There  was  hardly  room 
for  dress  parade,  which  we  here  learned  to  go  through 
decently ;  and  Colonel  Wild  gave  the  regiment  an  after 
noon  of  drill  in  inarching  at  double-quick  in  line  of  battle 
with  the  bayonet.  These  last  days  of  August  were  full  of 
great  events  occurring  in  front  of  our  camps,  so  quietly 
occupied,  for  out  at  Manassas  and  Centreville  "Stonewall" 
Jackson  and  his  men  were  for  several  days  between  Wash 
ington  and  the  army  of  General  Pope.  Fitz  Hugh  Lee, 
on  the  twenty-seventh,  captured  stores  at  Burke's  Station, 
within  twelve  miles  of  Alexandria.  If  Old  Stonewall  had 
been  in  sufficient  force  to  turn  towards  Washington  our 
position  would  have  been  more  lively.  It  became  suffi 
ciently  exciting  very  soon.  Sixty  rounds  of  cartridges  per 
man  were  distributed,  and  night  alarms,  with  beating  of 
the  long  roll,  practised. 

Distant  cannonade  was  heard  daily,  and  pickets  were 
posted  along  the  turnpike  to  the  front.  Company  I  had  a 
tour  of  duty,  August  29,  on  guard  at  Fort  Runion  and  the 
Long  Bridge,  where  they  saw  the  cavalrymen  who  had  been 
stampeded  at  Manassas  and  the  droves  of  cattle  hurried 
over  the  Potomac  to  Washington ;  evidently  "  something 


1 8  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

was  up  "  in  front,  which  did  not  look  like  victory.  The 
regiment  was  set  to  work  digging  intrenchments  of  regular 
profile,  flanking  the  forts;  but  the  connection  with  the 
commissary  department  was  not  well  established,  or  army 
rations  too  coarse,  consequently  our  diet  was  poor,  and 
digging  came  hard  ;  men  declared  they  had  come  out  to 
fight  and  not  to  handle  the  pick  and  shovel. 

The  liveliest  incident  was  the  narrow  escape  of  Lieu 
tenant  Hood.  He  says  :  "  I  was  lieutenant  of  the  pickets 
around  Arlington  Heights,  and  received,  August  29,  a 
despatch  from  General  McClellan  directing  me  to  detail 
twenty-five  extra  men  and  march  to  Hunter's  Chapel,  and 
await  one  of  his  staff.  I  did  so,  and  we  extended  the 
picket  line  to  Ball's  Cross  Roads ;  then  McClellan  made 
his  headquarters  at  Lee's  mansion,  the  Arlington  House. 
At  midnight  the  pickets  were  heard,  and  *  boots  to  saddle  ' 
sounded ;  I  went  to  the  Cross  Roads,  and  finding  troops 
going  into  camp  I  assisted  their  officer  in  posting  pickets. 
On  my  return  one  of  my  pickets  took  me  for  a  reb,  never 
made  me  dismount,  but  kept  his  gun  and  bayonet  in  my 
face  as  we  walked  along ;  he  stumbled  and  pricked  my 
horse,  and  let  me  have  it  in  face  and  eyes ;  then  ran  and 
cocked  his  gun  again  without  loading,  but  it  wouldn't  shoot 
worth  a  cent ;  then  the  other  picket  came  for  me ;  I  dis 
mounted,  sung  out  that  I  was  their  officer  and  gave  the 
countersign.  My  men  promised,  if  I  would  let  them  off, 
to  do  better  next  time.  I  understood  better  picket  duty, 
but  they  may  have  meant  shoot  straighten  When  I  got  to 
camp  I  found  my  face  blackened  with  powder." 

The  lieutenant  was  afterwards  very  severely  wounded  at 
Antietam. 

At  Camp  Whipple,  Major  Carruth,  now  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel,  arrived  about  the  fifth  of  September, 
bringing  commissions  for  Captain  Willard  to  be  major, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  19 

First-Lieutenant  Lathrop  to  be  a  captain,  and  Second- 
Lieutenant  Hill  to  be  a  first-lieutenant ;  also  Lieutenant 
Pope  joined  the  regiment  about  the  same  time.  Six  four- 
horse  army  wagons  were  issued  to  Quartermaster  Haines 
for  transportation  of  baggage. 

Ambulance  trains  from  the  front  moved  towards  Wash 
ington,  with  the  slow  motion  which  betokened  wounded 
men  within ;  and  stragglers  and  portions  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  passed  through  camp,  notably  Meagher's 
Brigade,  of  Sumner's  Corps,  sun-browned  heroes  of  the 
Peninsula,  their  clothes  weather-stained  and  worn,  flags 
tattered  and  ranks  thin,  telling  a  tale  of  hard  service,  and 
presenting  an  appearance  which  quite  shocked  us ;  there 
were  even  some  wounded  men  among  them.  Soon  after 
these  came  visitors  from  General  Pope's  Army  of  Virginia, 
with  tales  of  narrow  escapes  and  death  of  friends  in  the 
battles  about  Groveton,  called  Second  Bull  Run.  Surely 
the  crisis  had  now  come,  all  the  armies  were  about  us,  and 
we  were  in  good  position  to  participate.  We  gazed  over 
to  the  city  upon  the  half-finished  dome  of  the  Capitol,  and 
wondered  if  it  would  ever  be  completed  —  it  looked  doubt 
ful.  But  our  short  time  for  preparation  was  spent ;  ready 
or  not  ready  it  was  time  for  the  Thirty-Fifth  to  take  the 
field,  to  keep  it  until  the  end. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MARYLAND    AND    THE    BATTLE    OF    SOUTH    MOUNTAIN,    1862. 

/^ENERAL  LEE,  with  the  Confederate  army,  bore 
VJT  away  from  Washington  in  a  north-west  direction, 
and  crossed  the  Potomac  River  into  Maryland,  between 
September  4  and  7,  at  the  fords  near  Leesburg,  and 
encamped  in  the  vicinity  of  Frederick  City.  His  where 
abouts  were  to  us  a  subject  of  conjecture  for  several  days. 
General  Pope  was  relieved  from  the  command  of  our 
army  by  General  McClellan,  who  devoted  himself  to  the 
task  of  reorganizing  the  force,  while  moving  it  towards 
Frederick  to  meet  General  Lee  and  protect  Washington 
and  Baltimore.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  now  transferred  to 
the  command  of  General  Burnside,  already  north  of  the 
Potomac,  and  orders  were  received  in  the  morning  of  the 
sixth  of  September  to  be  ready  to  march  in  light  order, 
knapsacks  and  sick  men  to  be  left  behind,  and  tents  left 
standing.  Between  five  and  six  in  the  evening  the  regi 
ment  fell  in  and  moved  down  to  the  Long  Bridge,  crossed, 
and  passed  through  the  streets  of  Washington.  At  that 
hour  the  people  were  at  leisure,  and  doors  and  windows 
were  crowded  with  spectators.  Expectation  of  battle  was 
vivid,  and  cheers  followed  the  troops  as  they  hurried 
through  the  darkening  streets,  accompanied  by  the  rumble 
of  heavy  wagons  and  tramp  of  many  feet.  A  part  of  the 
regiment  turned  off  to  the  arsenal  to  exchange  muskets ; 
the  rest  marched  up  Seventh  Street,  due  north,  into  the 


21  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

dust  and  pale  moonlight  of  the  country  roads,  the  night 
air  hot,  but  excitement  cooling  as  the  city  was  left  behind. 
On  we  pushed  until  past  midnight,  tramp,  tramp,  by  quiet 
farms  and  sleeping  countrymen.  Men  began  to  express 
fatigue  in  emphatic  words,  then  straggling  began,  and 
rebukes  were  of  no  avail.  The  rear  had  almost  mingled 
with  the  head  of  the  column  when,  at  half-past  one  o'clock, 
the  order  came  to  halt  for  the  night;  and,  footsore  and 
weary,  the  men  sought  shelter  in  an  oak  grove  beside  the 
road,  and,  gathering  a  few  dried  leaves,  rolled  themselves 
in  such  coverings  as  they  had  and  slept. 

At  sunrise  (seventh),  after  a  wash  in  the  horse-trough 
opposite,  men  scattered  around  among  the  neighboring 
houses  in  search  of  a  breakfast ;  we  had  not  yet  learned 
to  subsist  upon  army  rations.  He  was  a  lucky  fellow  who 
found  a  cook  not  already  overcrowded  with  applicants. 
A  move  of  about  four  miles  only  was  made  this  day ;  it 
was  Sunday,  and  excessively  hot.  We  turned  into  some 
woods  on  the  left  of  the  road  near  Leesboro,  and  waited 
for  the  stragglers  to  come  up.  One  of  these  poor  fellows 
having  slept  under  a  wayside  hedge,  striking  into  the  road 
in  the  morning,  came  face  to  face  with  General  Burnside ; 
making  his  best  salute  the  man  boldly  inquired  whether 
the  general  had  seen  the  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  any 
where.  "  Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  urbane  general  dryly, 
"  you'll  find  them  all  the  way  from  here  to  Washington  !  " 
Such  are  the  effects  of  a  night  march  upon  new  troops. 
It  should  be  said,  however,  that  the  other  regiments  upon 
the  road  straggled  as  badly  as  our  boys ;  but  ours  were 
more  noticeable  because  we  were  so  full  in  numbers. 

At  this  camp  Colonel  WTild  instructed  us  in  the  duties  of 
a  soldier  on  the  march ;  condemning  straggling,  permitting 
foraging  only  when  the  commissary  had  forgotten  us,  and 
then  only  for  needful  food;  forbidding  extravagance  in 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  22 

burning  rail  fences,  and  adding  directions  in  regard  to  the 
care  of  the  wounded  in  battle,  —  the  enemy  to  be  whipped 
first  and  the  disabled  to  be  cared  for  afterward,  —  they 
were  words  of  experience  and  were  well  heeded.  Thence 
forward  the  rear  company  marching  with  fixed  bayonets 
made  straggling  unprofitable. 

On  the  eighth  the  regiment  moved  only  a  mile  and 
joined  the  brigade,  of  which  we  were  for  the  next  year 
and  a  half  to  form  a  part.  It  was  the  Second  Brigade  — 
Reno's  own  —  of  the  Second  Division  (General  Sturgis's) 
of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps  (General  Burnside's),  now  com 
manded  by  our  proper  brigadier,  General  Jesse  L.  Reno. 
General  Burnside  was  in  command  of  the  right  wing  of  the 
army,  including  General  Hooker's  First  Corps  with  his 
own.  Our  brigade,  now  under  the  leadership  of  Colonel 
Ferrero,  was  composed  of  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts, 
Fifty-First  New  York  and  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  regi 
ments.  We  were  carefully  informed  by  the  older  members 
that  it  was  called  "  The  Bloody  Second  Brigade,"  and  it 
was  certain  death  to  belong  to  if.  With  mouths  open  with 
amazement  we  swallowed  the  startling  information;  but 
the  old  veterans  were  not  very  far  beside  the  truth  after 
all.  They  had  served  in  North  Carolina  and  in  General 
Pope's  battles  in  Virginia,  with  great  distinction  and  with 
heavy  losses. 

The  brigade  marched  about  twelve  miles  on  the  ninth 
to  Brookville,  a  pretty  Maryland  village,  headquarters  of 
General  Burnside.  From  here  Major  Willard  and  Chaplain 
Miller  were  sent  back  with  one  of  the  wagons  to  Arlington, 
to  strike  the  tents  and  care  for  the  sick,  many  of  whom 
afterwards  found  their  way  into  the  dismal  Convalescent 
Camp  at  Alexandria.  No  movement  of  the  brigade  was 
made  on  the  tenth,  but  immense  bodies  of  troops  passed 
our  camp. 


23  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  small  supply  of  pork  and  hard  bread,  which  fastid 
ious  appetites  had  placed  in  our  haversacks  at  Arlington, 
was  now  exhausted.  Coffee  without  milk  or  sugar,  so 
bitter  at  first,  had  become  pleasant ;  raw  salt  pork  was  a 
luxury,  with  a  fine  nutty  flavor ;  and  hard  bread  took  the 
place  it  never  afterwards  gave  up,  as  the  first  essential  of 
a  soldier's  life.  The  trees  along  the  road  were  loaded 
with  green  apples,  and  many  of  the  men  experimented 
with  a  diet  of  sour  apple  sauce.  Stray  fowls  were  thrown 
into  the  pot  and  devoured  almost  before  they  could  utter 
their  last  expiring  clack.  We  began  to  understand  the 
saying,  that  an  army  moves  upon  its  stomach. 

After  this,  for  a  couple  of  days,  the  regiment  plodded 
along  with  the  brigade.  Hot  days,  dusty  roads  and  bruised 
feet  make  the  bivouac  on  the  ground  at  night  a  welcome 
rest.  The  discomfort  of  marching  in  close  ranks,  with 
perhaps  a  train  of  wagons  or  artillery  in  the  middle  of  the 
road,  and  another  column  of  troops  on  the  other  side,  all 
hurrying  forward,  sometimes  at  double-quick,  must  be  tried 
for  a  few  days  to  be  duly  appreciated.  Experience  was 
gained  daily.  Lazy  fellows  found  that  a  pound  weight  or 
so  of  water  in  a  canteen  was  a  heavy  lug,  and  learned  to 
beg  their  drink  of  neighbors  and  go  light  themselves. 
The  never  ended  discussion  was  begun  whether,  if  in  light 
marching  order,  a  choice  must  lie  between  an  overcoat  or 
a  blanket,  which  should  be  carried  along.  Also  the  boys 
discovered  that,  in  view  of  unexpected  orders  to  move,  it 
was  advisable  to  heat  their  pots  of  water  first,  then  put  in 
the  precious  coffee,  and  woe  to  him  who  mixed  his  coffee 
in  the  cold  water,  hoping  for  time  to  boil  it ;  if  he  did  not 
get  an  order  to  march,  or  detail  for  picket,  some  stumbler 
would  be  sure  to  kick  the  burning  rails  and  upset  the  mag 
nificent  array  of  blackening  tin  dippers  —  but  then  was  not 
the  air  blue  with  maledictions  ! 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  24 

The  left  and  centre  of  the  army  took  the  shorter  course 
through  Rockville  and  nearer  the  Potomac.  We  of  the 
right  wing  struck  off  north  along  the  Patuxent,  through 
Unity,  then,  on  the  eleventh,  north-westward  to  Damascus. 
Here  Fred.  F.  Blakely,  of  Company  C,  lost  the  forefinger 
of  his  right  hand,  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  his  gun 
while  on  duty ;  our  first  wounded  man.  As  the  infantry 
moved  on,  sounds  of  cannon  were  heard  and  sometimes 
the  cavalry  in  advance  came  into  view,  or  we  passed  a 
field-piece  unlimbered  by  the  roadside,  ready  to  open  fire ; 
but  all  conflict  seemed  to  keep  just  ahead.  On  the  twelfth, 
halting  at  noon  at  New  Market,  to  allow  another  division 
to  precede  us  on  the  turnpike  from  Baltimore  to  Frederick, 
we  heard  that  the  enemy's  cavalry  had  left  the  town  that 
morning.  Following  on,  we  reached  the  neighborhood  of 
Frederick  at  night,  the  last  part  of  the  way  between  the 
hills  solemnized  by  the  heavy  booming  of  cannon  in  front. 
These  old  turnpikes  in  Maryland  are  the  best  of  roads, 
well  macadamized  with  broken  limestone  ;  and  the  stone 
bridge  over  the  Monocacy  River,  which  the  Confederates 
tried  to  blow  up,  is  striking  for  its  solidity  and  foreign 
appearance.  The  regiment  turned  into  the  fields  north 
of  the  road,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  and  finding 
abundant  straw  the  men  made  a  comfortable  bivouac. 
There  had  been  a  skirmish  at  the  bridge  that  day,  and 
several  of  our  cavalry  were  killed  and  wounded. 

On  the  following  morning,  the  thirteenth,  while  awaiting 
orders,  the  rise  of  ground  west  of  us  was  covered  with 
men,  perched  upon  the  rail  fence,  watching  the  distant 
fight  between  our  cavalry  and  the  retiring  enemy.  The 
prospect  from  the  hill,  including  the  city  and  the  distant 
Catoctin  Hills,  was  worth  viewing,  without  its  exciting 
incidents.  By  companies,  the  regiment  filed  out  to  the 
river  bank  and  fired  the  new  Enfields  for  the  first  time, 


25  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

not  much  to  our  satisfaction ;  the  cones  of  some  snapped 
off  at  the  base,  rendering  such  arms  useless,  for  we  had  no 
tools  to  extract  the  stumps ;  and  the  ammunition  seemed 
to  fit  loosely,  so  that  some  were  disgusted  when  their 
bullets  dropped  into  the  water  a  few  rods  from  the  muzzle. 
Several  men  were  found  who  had  never  fired  a  gun. 

By  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  skirmish  in  front 
had  abated,  and  orders  came  to  move  forward.  Who  that 
was  present  will  ever  forget  the  cheerful  welcome  received 
as  the  heavy  columns  of  troops  passed  through  Frederick 
City,  flags  and  handkerchiefs  waving,  and  friendly  faces 
greeting  the  soldiers  from  all  sides  ! 

"  Over  the  mountains  winding  down, 
Horse  and  foot,  into  Frederick  town." 

At  a  corner  of  the  streets  General  McClellan  with  his 
staff  reviewed  the  troops,  and  cheer  after  cheer  rent  the 
air  as  the  regiments  passed.  This  welcome  from  patriotic 
Marylanders  made  the  soldiers  feel  as  if  they  were  to  fight 
upon  their  own  soil,  and  greatly  inspirited  the  army  unused 
to  such  moral  support.  The  song  of  "  Maryland,  My 
Maryland,"  was  ever  after  a  Union  song.  Our  regiment 
sang  together  "  Marching  Along  "  and  "  Old  John  Brown," 
with  grand  effect,  as  we  swung  through  the  streets ;  but 
when  we  halted  for  a  few  moments  in  the  outskirts,  some 
of  the  cynical  elders  of  the  brigade  suggested  :  "  Save 
your  breath,  boys ;  you'll  need  it  ahead  there  ! "  Too 
true  !  for  we  never  sang  together  on  the  march  afterwards, 
we  had  no  heart  for  it,  it  seemed  like  tempting  evil 
fortune. 

Darkness  gathered,  but  the  march  was  continued.  The 
road  was  ascending,  passing  over  the  Catoctin  range  of 
hills,  outliers  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  scenery  from  these 
by  day-light  is  described  as  surpassingly  fine ;  but,  as  we 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  26 

stumbled  along  at  a  quick  pace  over  the  heaps  of  broken 
stone,  dropped  there  for  road  mending — some  of  the  men 
so  tired  as  to  be  walking  in  their  sleep  —  we  minded  little 
of  the  charm  about  us.  The  waning  moon  rose  and  was 
reaching  the  zenith,  when,  late  at  night,  descending  the 
hills  we  found  ourselves  in  the  valley  near  Middletown. 
Here  a  halt  was  called,  arms  stacked,  packs  unslung,  and 
a  few  moments  found  the  tired  men  wrapped  in  sleep. 
Company  D  had  the  ill  luck  to  be  detailed  for  picket  on 
this  the  night  before  our  first  battle. 

Waking  stiff  and  sore  to  a  beautiful  Sunday  morning 
(September  14),  the  first  thought  was  breakfast.  Some 
cattle  were  driven  up  and  killed  in  the  neighboring  field, 
and  we  tried  broiling  collops  of  steaming  fresh  beef  upon 
our  ramrods.  Some  of  the  men  visited  the  houses  in  the 
town  in  search  of  eatables,  but  with  little  success.  The 
irrepressible  Walsh  returned  with  a  tea-kettle  and  cabbage 
—  of  course  he  was  a  tailor  as  well  as  a  marine  —  and  set 
to  work  boiling  the  vegetable.  While  this  was  passing 
artillery  firing  commenced,  and  white  puffs  of  smoke 
began  to  rise  between  us  and  the  range  of  blue  hills, 
called  the  South  Mountain,  about  one  thousand  feet  high, 
bounding  our  view  on  the  west ;  to  which,  however,  we 
gave  little  attention.  Two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  came, 
and  with  it  the  order  to  "fall-in."  The  regiment  was 
about  eight  hundred  strong,  with  Colonel  Wild  in  com 
mand.  Walsh  had  not  time  to  cook  his  cabbage ;  so  he 
slung  it,  kettle  and  all,  to  his  belt,  in  hopes  of  a  chance 
to  finish  it. 

We  passed  through  the  quiet  town,  houses  and  churches 
ominously  silent  and  deserted,  and  out  into  the  country, 
meeting  the  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth  Massachusetts  Regi 
ments,  with  other  troops,  resting  by  the  roadside  ;  they 
laughed  at  our  announcement  that  we,  such  raw  troops, 


27  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

were  going  into  battle.  The  wooden  bridge  over  a  small 
stream  was  destroyed,  the  timbers  still  smoking,  but  we 
found  no  difficulty  in  fording.  We  stopped  there  a  moment 
to  load  our  guns.  As  we  proceeded  ambulances  met  us, 
returning  with  wounded  men.  The  sound  of  firing  in  front 
grew  louder,  and  we  could  distinguish  the  rattle  of  mus 
ketry  and  see  a  line  of  smoke  rising  half  way  up  the  hills. 
"  Now,  men,  forward  !  right  —  shoulder  —  shift !  quick 
time  !  double  quick  !  "  came  the  orders.  We  left  the  road, 
crossed  the  fields,  jumping  brooks,  and  were  soon  close 
upon  our  batteries,  which  were  fuming  like  furnaces,  and 
sending  shells  into  Turner's  Pass  on  the  right  and  up  into 
the  woods  on  the  left. 

A  brief  halt  was  made  at  the  battery ;  then  the  order 
came  to  hurry  up  the  old  Sharpsburg  road,  at  Fox's  Gap, 
to  the  left.  Away  we  went  to  the  foot  of  the  hills ;  the 
rear  companies  with  difficulty  closing  up,  so  swift  the 
advance.  It  was  about  half  past  three  o'clock.  The 
cheering  and  rattle  of  musketry  were  lively  above  us,  and 
evidently  our  movement  meant  work.  Half  way  up  the 
hill  we  met  a  wounded  man  borne  in  a  stretcher  upon  the 
shoulders  of  his  friends.  He  shouted  to  us,  as  we  breath 
lessly  hurried  by  :  "  Forward,  boys,  forward  !  We're  driving 
them  !  Don't  let  this  scare  you ;  give  'em  hell !  They 
can't  stand  cold  steel !  "  We  passed  a  low  weather-stained, 
house,  and  came  into  line  of  battle  in  its  little  cornfield, 
to  the  left,  facing  the  woods  just  below  the  summit  of  the 
hill. 

"  Throw  off  your  packs  !  "  Away  go  our  bundles,  never 
to  be  seen  again.  "  Fix  bayonets ! "  The  rattle  of  the  steel 
replies.  "  Right  face  !  Forward  by  file  left !  Double 
quick  !  Charge  !  "  And  Company  A  led  off  gallantly  up 
into  the  thick  woods  in  front,  and  through  them  into  the 
open  field  upon  the  summit,  the  proper  scene  of  the  action. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  28 

Again  we  came  into  line,  then  forward  across  the  field  to 
the  wall  on  the  west  side  fronting  a  log-house  and  more 
woods,  the  right  of  the  regiment  resting,  as  it  advanced, 
upon  a  sunken  road  in  which  lay  many  dead  and  wounded 
Confederates.  A  few  scattering  shots  from  the  forest  in 
front  saluted  our  appearance  in  the  field.  The  momentary 
halt  gave  Walsh  an  opportunity  to  deposit  his  precious 
kettle  in  the  corner  of  the  wall,  he  now  looking  for  warmer 
work. 

Immediately  we  started  by  the  right  flank  and  passed 
on  the  double-quick  the  cross-roads  made  by  the  sunken 
road,  passing  over  the  hill,  meeting  the  road  following  the 
ridge  and  leading  to  Rohrersville.  Here  stood  Colonel 
Wild,  full  of  the  fire  of  battle,  urging  us  on  with  the  most 
vehement  words.  As  we  passed  the  colonel  we  saw  several 
dead  and  wounded  of  the  enemy,  lying  by  a  pile  of  their 
abandoned  knapsacks,  and  either  one  of  these  wounded 
men,  or  some  one  in  the  shrubbery  behind  them,  fired  a 
shot  which  took  effect  in  our  ranks.  Our  boys  rushed 
fiercely  at  them  with  the  bayonet ;  but  at  the  call  of  mercy, 
11  Hold,  men,  don't  strike  a  wounded  man  !  "  they  threw  up 
the  steel.  That  little  scene  among  the  trees,  with  the 
dead  and  wounded,  their  cadaverous  faces  and  pale  gray 
clothing,  arms  thrown  up  for  mercy,  and  the  little  cloud  of 
smoke  dissipating  above,  left  a  vivid  impression. 

We  kept  along  the  ridge  road  to  the  north  a  little  way, 
then  faced  the  forest,  and,  with  bayonets  at  a  charge,  tried 
to  push  through  the  tangled  mass  of  vines  and  brambles, 
in  line  of  battle,  on  down  the  west  side  of  the  mountain. 
The  thicket  was  so  close  that  only  here  and  there  could  a 
passage  be  forced  through,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  regi 
ment,  instead  of  advancing  in  line,  broke  into  sections  or 
smaller  parties,  which  moved  forward  by  flank,  —  dressing 
on  any  point  was  impracticable.  With  bayonets  forward, 


29  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

watching  the  front,  anticipating  momentarily  a  crossing  of 
steel  with  the  foe,  but  meeting  no  one,  down  we  went. 
Some  ways  down  we  halted ;  the  movement  had  been  so- 
quick  most  were  glad  to  rest  a  moment  and  recover  breath. 
The  sun  in  the  west  shone  brightly  among  the  trees,  the 
bee  hummed  among  the  grasses,  all  sounds  of  battle  near 
us  had  ceased.  We  had  penetrated  far  within  the  original 
Confederate  line,  and  the  foe  in  this  front  had  fled  down 
the  road  to  the  left.  If  any  remained  in  position  we  were 
well  within  their  left  flank.  Knowing  nothing  of  positions, 
however,  and  in  doubt  what  to  do,  the  sections,  coming 
more  together,  marched  back  up  the  hill  into  the  ridge 
road  again. 

Here  was  a  scene  of  unavoidable  confusion,  as  the  dif 
ferent  parties  came  out  of  the  woods  and  sought  to  recover 
their  positions  in  the  line.  Such  a  shouting  of  company 
letters,  "  Company  A  !  "  "  Company  B  !  "  "  Company  C  !  " 
etc.,  was  never  heard  before  nor  since.  Soon,  having 
settled  into  something  like  a  line,  so  as  to  be  under  com 
mand,  the  column,  consisting  of  about  half  the  regiment, 
the  rest  going  back  by  another  route,  moved  back  by  flank 
to  and  across  the  sunken  road,,  and  then  south  upon  the 
field  on  the  summit.  There  the  rest  of  our  brigade 
appeared,  drawn  up  in  two  lines,  —  Fifty-First  New  York 
and  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  in  front,  Twenty-First  Massa 
chusetts  in  rear, —  and  our  left  companies  commenced 
forming  in  rear  of  the  line  of  the  Twenty-First,  and  extend 
ing  to  the  right,  about  twenty  feet  in  front  of  the  easterly 
boundary  of  the  field.  The  sun  was  just  down. 

While  this  position  was  being  taken,  suddenly  a  sharp 
fire  of  musketry  burst  upon  us  from  the  wood  to  our  front 
and  right,  out  of  which  we  had  just  come.  The  surprise 
was  complete.  The  darkening  forest  was  lined  with  flashes 
of  the  hostile  guns,  and  their  bullets  cut  the  earth  about 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  30 

our  feet ;  the  ground  descending  towards  the  enemy.  In 
stantly  some  of  the  men  threw  forward  their  rifles  and 
returned  the  fire,  aiming  over  the  heads  of  the  line  in 
front.  Orders  were  confused,  some  shouting,  "  Fire ! 
fire  !  "  Others,  more  calm,  "  Cease  firing  !  "  The  latter 
quickly  prevailed,  although,  after  a  momentary  interval, 
while  they  were  reloading  or  a  new  line  coining  up,  the 
enemy's  musketry  was  continued,  and  men  of  our  regiment 
were  being  hit;  and  our  line  was  drawn  back  into  the  edge 
of  the  forest,  east  of  the  field,  so  as  to  be  less  exposed. 
It  was  in  this  sudden  attack  that  General  Reno  received  a 
mortal  wound,  and  our  colonel  lost  his  arm. 

When  word  spread  that  Colonel  Wild  was  hit,  there  was 
some  hesitation  as  to  who  should  succeed  him,  the  lieu 
tenant-colonel  not  being  found  at  first.  Captain  Andrews 
took  command  and  led  the  regiment  still  further  back  into 
the  woods,  so  as  to  be  protected  while  lying  down  by  the 
crest  of  the  hill.  It  was  quite  dark ;  the  rest  of  the  brigade 
in  our  front  and  left  kept  up  a  steady,  rattling  fire  of  mus 
ketry  ;  and  so  did  the  Confederates  in  our  front,  but  they 
did  not  advance,  being  content  to  expend  their  ammunition 
on  the  trees  over  our  heads ;  so  we  lay  and  listened  to  the 
steady  whizzing  of  the  bullets  above  us. 

Had  the  enemy  come  out  into  the  open  field  on  our 
right  in  force  they  would  have  flanked  our  position,  and 
recovered  the  ground  they  had  lost  in  the  afternoon ;  but 
they  hesitated  to  advance  in  the  darkness,  and  kept  blazing 
away  without  effecting  anything  until,  having  used  up  their 
powder,  their  fire  slackened  and  they  retired.  Meanwhile 
our  leader,  fearing  such  a  movement  upon  our  right,  drew 
out  the  regiment  from  the  woods  into  the  sunken  road, 
which  we  found  encumbered  with  dead  and  wounded  Con 
federates.  Here,  while  the  enemy's  musketry  was  dying 
away,  we  lay  with  bayonets  fixed,  peering  into  the  darkness 


31  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

over  the  stone  wall,  which  bounded  the  road  on  the  north 
side,  awaiting  the  flank  attack  which  did  not  come.  Some 
of  the  poor  fellows  in  the  road  had  strength  enough  to 
speak,  arid  beg  for  water  or  a  change  of  position,  which 
was  willingly  rendered  them.  When  the  contest-had  ceased 
General  Sturgis  sent  up  a  section  of  artillery ;  and,  to  let 
the  guns  pass,  our  men  moved  the  wounded  and  dead  from 
the  road  upon  the  bank,  sometimes  in  the  darkness  placing 
several  bodies  together,  which  lead  observers  in  the  morning 
to  report  to  the  newspapers  that  "  the  rebels  were  piled  in 
heaps  as  high  as  the  wall."  We  then  marched  into  the  field 
north  of  the  sunken  road  and  stacked  arms,  with  orders  to 
rest  behind  the  stacks,  but  be  ready  for  action  at  any  mo 
ment  ;  videttes  were  sent  forward  to  the  rail  fence  fronting 
the  western  wood.  It  was  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  quite  cold  upon  the  hill  top.  The  men  were  bathed 
in  perspiration  from  the  exertion  and  excitement  of  battle, 
but  a  renewal  of  the  attack  being  feared  few  were  per 
mitted  to  return  down  the  hill  to  the  cornfield  in  search  of 
the  blankets  and  coats  thrown  off  before  the  first  charge ; 
some  returned  and  reported  nothing  there  —  friends  in  the 
rear  had  made  way  with  the  goods.  No  fires  were  allowed, 
so  we  tried  to  keep  warm  walking  about,  and  by  turns 
endeavoring  to  catch  a  little  sleep,  lying  four  across  four, 
until  the  welcome  sun  arose.  The  fatigues  of  the  day  and 
of  the  previous  night's  march  made  even  these  naps  a 
precious  relief. 

In  the  morning  some  made  a  breakfast  upon  the  small 
round  biscuit  with  which  the  haversacks  of  the  dead  Con 
federates  about  us  were  filled ;  others  preferred  to  go 
hungry  rather  than  do  anything  which  seemed  like  robbing 
the  dead.  Whether  Walsh  recovered  his  kettle  of  cabbage 
was  never  reported.  Down  the  east  side  of  the  hill,  in  our 
rear,  where  the  Confederate  line  of  battle  had  lain  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  32 

day  before,  along  a  stone  wall,  the  ground  was  gray  with 
the  knapsacks  and  blankets  they  had  thrown  off  in  the 
fight  and  left  behind  in  their  hasty  departure.  From  these, 
with  a  good  deal  of  fastidious  examination  for  those  little 
creatures  which  love  to  lodge  in  the  clothing  of  veteran 
armies,  we  selected  blankets  to  supply  those  we  had  lost. 
The  dead  lay  with  faces  upturned,  already  black  with  dis 
solution,  and  objected  not  to  the  necessary  appropriation. 
Those  who  went  over  the  field  said  that  the  Confederate 
dead  lay  thicker  to  the  left  in  the  woods,  but  the  horrors 
beside  us  sufficed. 

We  noticed  here  and  there  a  tall  fellow  in  blue,  with  the 
regulation  Kossuth  hat,  betokening  Western  troops,  for  the 
soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  always  wore  the  cloth 
cap.  They  were  the  dead  of  the  Seventeenth  Michigan, 
who,  with  the  Seventy-Ninth  New  York  (Highlanders),  had 
preceded  us  in  the  charge  the  afternoon  before  and  had 
broken  the  line  of  the  enemy  at  the  sunken  road,  thus 
accounting  for  our  so  undisputed  advance  over  the  field. 
The  wounded  man  we  had  met  on  the  hill-side  was  one 
of  theirs,  and  his  words  of  cheer  were  a  true  statement  of 
the  condition  of  the  action  at  the  moment.  General  Cox's 
Kanawha  Division  had  secured  and  held  a  place  of  vantage, 
from  which  these  two  regiments  had  made  their  gallant 
and  successful  charge. 

General  McClellan  and  staff  passed  up  over  the  field, 
and  were  received  with  cheers  and  every  demonstration  of 
victory.  Then  our  satisfaction  was  chilled  by  news  that 
our  noble  General  Reno  was  dead,  —  an  irreparable  loss 
to  the  Ninth  Corps,  —  an  officer  whose  name  cannot  be 
repeated  without  a  pang  of  sorrow  ! 

Colonel  Wild's  arm  was  amputated  at  the  shoulder,  and 
the  loss  unfitted  him  for  severe  field  service,  though  he 
afterwards  won  additional  honor  as  general  in  command 


33  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

of  the  well-known  Wild's  African  Brigade.  The  Thirty- 
Fifth  was  fated  to  lose  its  commanding  officer  in  successive 
actions  ;  he  was  the  first  to  fall.  The  other  officers  wounded 
were  Captain  B.  F.  Pratt,  Second-Lieutenant  Charles  F. 
Williams,  Jr.  (mortally),  and  First-Lieutenant  William  Hill. 
Of  the  enlisted  men,  there  were  five  killed  or  who  died 
of  their  wounds  soon  after :  Addison  Tarr,  of  Company  A 
(the  first  man  killed  in  battle  in  the  Thirty-Fifth) ;  Andrew 
J.  Nash,  of  B ;  George  S.  Sloan,  of  E ;  George  F.  Whiting, 
of  I ;  and  Joseph  W.  Cobb,  of  K.  There  were  some  dozen 
to  twenty  others  wounded. 

The  men  of  the  regiment  who  fired  at  the  time  of  the 
sudden  attack  were  rightly  blamed  for  doing  so  without 
the  colonel's  orders,  but  such  occurrences  are  not  easily 
avoided  ;  even  veteran  troops,  when  unexpectedly  assaulted 
in  a  wooded  country,  will,  if  they  think  they  see  an  opening 
for  a  shot,  return  the  fire  without  orders,  for  the  noise  of 
the  attack  drowns  the  commander's  voice,  it  can  never  be 
known  how  far  the  enemy  will  advance,  and  the  ball  or  the 
bayonet  is  the  only  thing  to  stop  them.  The  marvel  was 
not  that  our  raw  men  blazed  away,  but  that  they  could  be 
stopped,  and  remain  steady  while  the  enemy's  fire  con 
tinued. 

The  troops  of  Generals  Hooker  and  Meacle  had  fought 
the  enemy  bravely  and  successfully  on  the  hills  north  of 
Turner's  Pass,  and  General  Gibbon  in  the  Pass  itself. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Hayes,  of  the  Twenty-Third  Ohio,  late 
President  Hayes,  was  wounded  somewhere  on  the  ridge 
south  of  our  point  of  attack.  The  Confederates  had  now 
retired  from  the  whole  front  to  behind  Antietam  Creek. 

Colonel  Taylor,  in  his  book,  "  Four  Years  with  General 
Lee,"  gives  the  forces  engaged  on  the  Confederate  side  at 
South  Mountain  as  follows :  D.  H.  Hill  had  the  brigades 
of  Rhodes,  Garland,  Colquitt,  Anderson  and  Ripley,  num- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  34 

bering  in  all  less  than  five  thousand.  About  3  P.  M.  he  was 
reenforced  by  the  brigades  of  Drayton  and  Anderson,  num 
bering  nineteen  hundred,  and  late  in  the  day  was  joined 
by  Longstreet,  with  the  brigades  of  Evans,  Pickett,  Kem- 
per,  Jenkins,  Hood  and  Whiting ;  only  four  of  these,  how 
ever,  numbering  three  thousand,  became  seriously  engaged, 
and  they  not  until  dark.  The  troops  of  Garland,  G.  B. 
Anderson,  Ripley,  Drayton  and  G.  T.  Anderson  are  else 
where  stated  to  have  been  engaged  at  Fox's  Gap,  and  of 
these  the  Twenty-Third  North  Carolina  claimed  to  have 
killed  General  Reno.  The  brigades  of  G.  T.  Anderson 
and  Drayton  appear  to  have  been  the  ones  which  left  their 
dead  and  wounded  in  the  sunken  road  and  their  knapsacks 
behind  the  walls,  and  Longstreet's  men  to  have  made  the 
attack  at  dark. 

Captain  Phisterer,  in  his  "  Statistical  Record,"  gives  the 
total  losses  at  South  Mountain  :  Union,  2,325  ;  Confederate, 

4,343- 

The  importance  to  the  National  cause  of  this  victory  at 
South  Mountain,  won  by  clash  and  courage  from  an  enemy 
strongly  posted  and  elated  with  recent  successes,  can  with 
difficulty  be  estimated  now.  It  was  our  first  important 
advantage  after  a  series  of  disastrous  battles.  The  effect 
in  restoring  to  the  army  confidence  in  its  powers,  and  in 
encouraging  a  disappointed  people,  was  visible  at  once  in 
the  spirit  and  disposition  of  the  men  and  in  the  tone  of  the 
newspapers  and  letters  from  home. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ANTIETAM. 

ON  the  fifteenth  of  September  the  Confederate  army 
was  divided:  General  Lee  with  Longstreet's  and 
other  divisions,  including  the  troops  of  D.  H.  Hill  just 
driven  from  South  Mountain,  had  withdrawn  into  the  angle 
formed  by  the  Potomac  River  and  the  Antietam  Creek, 
and  lay  upon  the  gently  swelling  hills  in  front  of  the 
village  of  Sharpsburg,  waiting  to  concentrate  his  army  and 
for  his  trains  to  cross  the  river  into  Virginia  ;  General 
Jackson  was  distant  from  Lee  about  seventeen  miles,  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  gathering  in  his  prisoners  and  spoils  ;  for, 
at  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  the  garrison  of  Harpers 
Ferry,  some  ten  thousand  men,  with  abundant  stores,  had 
surrendered  to  Old  Stonewall,  who,  by  a  masterly  surround 
and  occupation  of  the  commanding  heights,  had  compelled 
a  surrender  sooner  than  was  thought  possible.  The  officer 
who  succeeded  General  Miles,  who  was  killed  at  the  mo 
ment  of  capitulation,  was  our  afterwards  friend  and  division 
commander,  General  Julius  White,  of  Indiana.  The  news 
of  this  loss  reached  us  next  day,  and  caused  almost  as 
much  depression  as  our  victory  had  given  elation. 

The  weather  was  fine  and  favorable  for  the  movements 
of  the  armies ;  but  the  men  of  our  regiment,  after  the  two 
nights  of  broken  rest  and  fatigues  of  battle,  were  happy  to 
lie  upon  the  field  during  the  morning  and  let  the  warm  sun 
thaw  out  limbs  stiffened  by  the  frosts  of  the  previous  night. 


36  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

General  J.  D.  Cox,  of  the  Kanawha  Division,  took  com 
mand  of  the  Ninth  Corps.  Lieutenant  Hudson  had  been 
detailed  upon  the  staff  of  Colonel  Ferrero  before  the  battle. 
He  says  he  had  forty  minutes'  chase  after  the  Thirty-Fifth 
the  afternoon  before,  and  was  unable  to  catch  up  with  it; 
which  shows  the  swiftness  of  our  march  from  Middletown. 

Having  gathered  up  the  stragglers,  and  looked  after  the 
dead  and  wounded,  the  regiment  formed,  about  two  in  the 
afternoon,  and  took  the  road  down  the  west  slope  of  the 
mountain.  The  sun  seemed  to  brighten  as  we  left  that 
scene  of  horror.  It  is  said  by  those  now  living  upon  the 
spot  that  a  portion  of  the  dead  were  buried  by  throwing 
them  into  the  well  near  the  log-house  at  the  cross  roads. 
The  valley  we  entered  was  green  and  fertile,  and  dotted 
with  comfortable  houses,  many  having  a  Dutch  look,  like 
their  owners'  names.  One  of  our  men,  Greenleaf  F.  Jel- 
lison,  of  Company  C,  accidentally  shot  himself  in  the  foot 
soon  after  we  started.  In  a  field  by  the  road-side  two  young 
bulls,  a  black  and  a  red,  seized  with  a  desire  to  ape  the 
folly  of  their  betters,  or  taking  advantage  of  broken  fences 
to  clear  off  old  scores,  were  having  a  pitched  battle.  •  Our 
boys  named  one  "  Mac,"  the  other  "  Bob  Lee,"  and  de 
clared  that  the  former  got  the  better  of  the  contest.  So 
the  auspices  were  propitious. 

Approaching  the  banks  of  the  Antietam  at  dark,  a  line 
of  batteries  appeared,  posted  along  the  ridge  in  front ; 
they  were  warmly  engaged,  sending  shot  and  shell  across 
the  stream  at  the  enemy,  whom  the  rise  of  ground  con 
cealed  from  us.  The  regiment,  at  first,  turned  in  on  the 
right  of  the  road  and  stacked  arms ;  then  resumed  them 
and,  moving  further  along  the  road,  turned  into  a  cornfield 
on  the  left,  where,  with  other  troops  massed  there,  we  re 
mained  in  bivouac  all  night  and  the  following  day.  The 
sixteenth  was  a  beautiful  day,  and  sitting  upon  a  bundle, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  37 

leaning  one's  back  against  a  stack  of  arms  and  reading  old 
papers,  would  have  been  quite  comfortable  had  it  not  been 
for  the  shells  and  solid  shot  which  our  friends  on  the  fur 
ther  side  of  the  creek  kept  dropping  into  the  field,  generally 
without  effect  other  than  noise  and  dust,  but  occasionally 
maiming  some  poor  fellow,  causing  a  pause  in  the  reading- 
During  the  day  Generals  McClellan  and  Burnside  passed 
with  numerous  staffs,  reconnoitring  the  front  and  drawing 
the  enemy's  fire  effectually. 

At  sundown  we  moved  forward  to  the  south  and  over 
the  ridge.  The  brigade  formed  en  masse,  and  with  the 
straw  from  a  large  stack  near  by  the  men  made  a  luxurious 
bivouac.  The  scene  from  this  position  was  very  fine.  In 
front  was  the  valley  through  which  the  Antietam  ran  to 
join  the  Potomac  somewhere  to  our  south-east.  Beyond 
the  creek  the  hills  rose  to  a  considerable  elevation,  crowned 
with  hay-stacks  and  the  houses  of  Sharpsburg,  among  which 
rested  the  Confederate  army,  with  its  batteries  frowning 
along  the  front.  The  country  upon  our  right  was  hidden 
from  view  by  hills  on  our  side  of  the  creek.  Behind  us 
were  the  batteries  of  Benjamin,  Durell,  and  others  on  the 
ridge.  It  was  a  clear  evening ;  all  seemed  to  breathe 
awhile  and  rest  for  the  dread  contest  of  the  morrow. 
Artillery  was  fired  for  some  time  from  the  enemy's  line, 
a  few  shots  towards  us,  but  most  of  them  to  the  south 
east,  where  the  trains  of  light  and  bursting  shells  looked 
like  signals  towards  Harper's  Ferry.  We  had  a  peaceful 
night's  rest.  At  midnight  much  needed  rations  were 
brought  up  from  the  trains  by  the  exertions  of  our  after 
wards  quartermaster,  Cutter. 

Before  the  men  had  turned  out  on  the  morning  of  the 
seventeenth  the  roar  of  battle  came  swelling  down  from 
the  right,  and  men  exclaimed  :  "  Boys,  listen  to  the  music ! 
They  have  gone  in  on  the  right !  "  Beyond  the  Antietam, 


33 

above  us,  the  corps  of  Generals  Hooker,  Mansfield,  Sum- 
ner  and  Franklin  successively  assailed  the  Confederate 
left  wing  about  Dunker  Church,  suffering  and  inflicting 
losses  in  killed  and  wounded  unprecedented  at  that  period 
of  the  war.  The  localities,  times  of  entering  the  action 
by  different  divisions,  and  work  done  by  each  are  much 
disputed ;  and  it  does  not  belong  to  this  story  to  try  to 
explain  them.  The  high  ground  between  shut  of!  the 
scene  from  our  view ;  we  heard  only  the  thunder  of  the 
mingled  artillery  and  small  arms  as  the  tide  of  contest 
rose  and  fell.  Let  it  suffice  here  to  say  that  the  fight  in 
that  direction  lasted  from  daylight  to  noon,  that  the  field 
was  a  sea  of  blood,  and  the  results  indecisive. 

In  our  front  there  was  quiet  in  the  early  morning,  except 
an  occasional  picket  shot  down  in  the  misty  bed  of  the 
creek.  Directions  were  issued  to  have  all  canteens  filled, 
as  the  day  was  likely  to  be  warm ;  and  men  scattered  with 
back  loads  of  canteens  in  search  of  wells.  The  crowding 
about  these  and  constant  plying  of  the  buckets  muddied 
the  water,  and  yet  he  was  fortunate  who  filled  up  with  that 
mixture.  Firing  began  near  us,  and  the  word  spread  that 
the  regiment  was  falling  in ;  there  was  a  rush  from  all 
directions  to  the  ranks.  When  formed,  about  ten  o'clock, 
we  marched  by  the  left  flank  through  the  fields  and  clumps 
of  wood  to  the  southward, —  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carruth  at 
the  head,  Lieutenant  Hudson,  an  aide  of  Colonel  Ferrero, 
acting  as  guide,  —  coming  out  on  the  wooded  bluff  imme 
diately  overlooking  the  valley  of  the  Antietam.  Here  one 
of  our  batteries  was  engaged  in  a  duel  with  a  Confederate 
battery  upon  the  opposite  hills.  The  enemy's  shell  flew 
about  us,  at  our  feet  and  among  the  trees,  but  harmlessly ; 
our  experience  of  yesterday  had  familiarized  us  somewhat 
with  this  long  bowling.  When,  however,  one  of  our  shot 
struck  and  exploded  a  caisson  on  the  other  side  our  cheers 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  39 

were  loud  and  long,  and  were  replied  to  by  a  rather  feeble 
yell  from  our  antagonists. 

It  was  near  eleven  o'clock,  and  a  brisk  contest  had  been 
going  on  for  some  time  upon  the  creek  below  us  ;  but  the 
trees  and  smoke  concealed  all  from  view.  We  could  hear 
our  men  shouting  and  their  foes  yelling,  amid  the  rattle  of 
small  arms  ;  it  seemed  hot  work  down  there.  These  were 
the  unsuccessful  movements  to  secure  the  bridge-crossing, 
first  by  General  Crook's  brigade  of  the  Kanawha  Division, 
afterwards  by  the  Sixth  New  Hampshire  and  Second  Mary 
land  of  the  First  Brigade  (General  Nagle's)  of  our  division. 
At  length  the  order  came  for  us  to  move  forward.  We 
descended  the  hill  by  the  left  flank,  and  passed  between 
the  stalks  of  tall  corn  on  the  level,  meeting  several  men 
holding  an  arm  or  some  member  from  which  the  red  blood 
was  dripping.  The  air  was  close  and  stifling.  While  this 
was  being  done,  the  following  interesting  conversation  took 
place  between  General  Sturgis  and  Lieutenant  Hudson, 
aide  :  "  Colonel  Ferrero  wishes  to  know  what  to  do  with 
the  regiments."  Sturgis  replied  :  "  Have  him  move  those 
regiments  (the  three  older  ones)  clown  to  the  stream  imme 
diately,  and  take  the  bridge  !  "  "  And  what  with  this  new 
Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  ? "  "  Tell  him  to  move  it  across 
the  bridge  and  up  the  hill  in  line  of  battle.  There  must 
be  no  delay ;  General  Burnsicle  is  waiting  for  this  to  be 
done  now  !  "  ""Isn't  that  artillery  aimed  at  the  position  ?  " 
"Yes  ;  but  that  shall  be  stopped." 

.  We  reached  the  bank  of  the  stream  near  a  large  spread 
ing  tree,  where  the  water  flowed  dark  and  cool  under  the 
overhanging  foliage.  At  this  point  the  creek  ran  nearly 
from  west  to  east.  The  opposite  bank  was  high  with  an 
abrupt  rocky  ascent,  studded  with  trees,  and  completely 
commanding  the  side  upon  which  we  were.  Here  the  reg 
iment  halted  awhile ;  bundles  were  thrown  off  and  piled, 


40  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  a  guard  set  over  them  ;  and  bayonets  were  fixed.  Not 
a  shot  was  fired  at  us  from  the  other  bank,  the  enemy's 
attention  being  drawn  to  the  fight  above  us,  where  the 
sounds  of  battle  still  continued,  seeming  to  increase  as  we 
came  nearer. 

The  country  road  ran  up  stream,  close  to  the  north  bank 
of  the  creek,  and  was  bounded  on  the  northerly  side  by  a 
fence  and  ploughed  field,  in  which  stood  an  old  barn. 
Beyond  the  field  and  a  fence,  which  formed  its  west 
boundary,  was  a  wooded  knoll,  or  two  little  knolls,  facing 
the  opening  of  the  bridge,  and  behind  these  Nagle's  men 
were  posted.  Colonel  Ferrero  ordered  the  Fifty-First 
Pennsylvania  to  move  forward  by  the  right  flank  to  Nagle's 
position,  then  down  with  a  yell  and  rush  over  the  bridge. 
The  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  was  placed  in  the  ploughed 
field  along  the  fence  bounding  the  road,  and  ordered  to 
open  fire  at  the  enemy  across  the  creek  ;  which  they  did 
warmly.  Company  A  of  our  regiment  was  detailed  to 
take  position  on  the  left  of  the  Twenty-First,  and  com 
mence  firing  in  the  same  manner.  The  Fifty-First  New 
York  was  posted  on  the  right  of  the  Twenty-First,  but  at 
right  angles  to  it,  facing  up  stream  towards  the  bridge. 
The  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  proceeded  as  ordered,  made 
a  dash  from  the  knoll  to  the  opening  of  the  bridge,  stopped 
there  and  commenced  firing.  Our  artillery  was  aimed  at 
the  further  end  of  the  bridge,  and  had  to  be  quieted  before 
the  Fifty-First  could  proceed. 

Colonel  Ferrero  moved  diagonally  across  the  ploughed 
field  to  behind  the  knolls,  and  the  Thirty-Fifth  followed. 
Colonel  Ferrero  sent  Lieutenant  Hudson  from  the  knolls 
to  Colonel  Hartranft,  commanding  the  Fifty-First  Penn 
sylvania,  to  ask  why  he  did  not  cross  the  bridge  at  once. 
Colonel  Hartranft  was  found  at  the  right  parapet  with  his 
colors.  When  the  order  was  communicated  to  him,  he 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  41 

said:  "Does  he  wish  it?"  "  Yes,  sir."  "Very  well." 
The  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  then  started,  the  men  firing 
upwards  and  setting  up  a  yell  as  a  signal  for  our  artillery 
to  cease  firing  on  the  bridge.  Lieutenant  Hudson  then 
asked  Lieutenant-Colonel  Potter,  commanding  the  Fifty- 
First  New  York,  to  follow.  He  assented,  and  his  regiment 
hurried  after  the  Pennsylvanians.  Most  of  our  regiment, 
Company  D  being  now  the  head  of  the  column,  had  passed 
the  fence  near  the  knolls,  when  the  shouting  and  din  of 
the  conflict,  now  close  at  hand  to  our  left,  was  redoubled. 
It  was  the  charge  of  the  two  regiments  in  accordance  Math 
the  above  orders.  Colonel  Ferrero  said  to  Lieutenant 
Hudson  :  "  Hudson,  tell  your  colonel  to  cross  the  bridge 
immediately,  move  along  the  road  to  the  right,  form  in 
•line  and  advance  up  the  hill  ! "  The  lieutenant  did  so. 

"  Forward  !  "  came  the  order  to  us.  "  Double  quick  !  " 
And  we  rushed  around  between  the  little  knolls  and  out  of 
the  little  grove,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carruth  leading,  into 
an  open  space  facing  the  entrance  to  a  stone  bridge,  with 
parapets,  crossing  the  creek.  Here  was  a  startling  scene 
of  battle ;  clouds  of  smoke  overhung ;  along  the  creek, 
below  the  bridge,  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  and  our 
Company  A  were  actively  engaged  with  the  enemy  posted 
behind  trees,  rails  and  stones,  upon  the  rocky  acclivity 
across  the  stream ;  dead  and  wounded  men  in  blue  lay 
.about,  some  still  tossing  and  writhing  in  their  agony ;  the 
bridge  was  filled  with  men  of  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania 
and  Fifty-First  New  York,  who  had  preceded  us,  some 
kneeling  behind  the  parapets  of  the  bridge  and  firing  up 
at  the  gray  coats,  others  crowding  forward  to  the  further 
•end  of  the  bridge  and  also  firing  upward. 

Our  regiment  came  partly  into  line,  as  if  to  open  fire 
along  the  bank  at  the  bridge ;  then,  by  the  colonel's  com 
mands,  swung  by  the  right  again  and  joined  the  throng 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

hurrying  on  to  the  further  bank,  the  third  regiment  to 
cross.  Confederate  sharpshooters  dropped  or  slid  from 
the  overhanging  trees  in  which  they  had  been  hidden  — 
one  clinging  to  a  branch  the  moment  before  he  fell.  It  is 
said  that  Colonel  Ferrero  seized  a  musket  and  fired  among 
them.  In  a  shorter  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it  we  had 
crowded  across  the  bridge  and  filed  into  the  road  to  the 
right,  where  the  two  regiments  which  had  preceded  us  were 
halted.  The  line  of  the  regiment  was  formed  quickly 
and  steadily,  facing  the  hill,  which  here  rose  more  gently 
than  below  the  bridge.  Men  in  gray  came  down  the  hill, 
holding  up  both  hands,  or  waving  a  dirty  white  rag,  and 
were  sent  to  the  rear  as  prisoners.  They  belonged  to 
Georgia  regiments,  of  Toombs's  Brigade,  of  General  D. 
R.  Jones's  Division. 

The  halt  here  was  but  for  a  few  moments;  then  the 
Thirty-Fifth  was  ordered  forward  up  the  hill,  with  a 
promise  that  other  regiments  should  follow  in  support. 
Accordingly  we  advanced  up  the  steep,  climbing  with 
difficulty  the  high  rail  fences,  at  first  in  line  of  battle,  then 
swinging  into  column  and  moving  by  the  right  flank  as  we 
neared  the  top.  The  regiment  reached  the  bare  brow  of 
the  hill  —  the  first  to  appear  there  —  and  moved  some 
distance  by  the  right  flank  to  the  higher  part  of  the  rise. 
Before  us,  towards  Sharpsburg,  the  enemy  were  scattering 
back  to  their  artillery  upon  the  hills  on  the  hither  side  of 
the  town.  The  hostile  battery,  which  we  had  been  watch 
ing  an  hour  before,  now,  close  at  hand,  opened  upon  us  at 
once,  and  sent  the  iron  whizzing  around  us,  shells  taking 
effect  in  Companies  D  and  H,  cutting  Luther  F.  Read  in 
two,  killing  David  W.  Gushing,  and  severely  wounding 
Lieutenant  Baldwin.* 

*The  commander  of  that  battery,  Moody,  was  subsequently  a  prisoner  under 
charge  of  Lieut.  Baldwin,  at  Fort  Warren. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  43 

It  was  but  high  noon.  If  supports  had  been  up,  as 
promised,  the  whole  could  have  gone  forward,  kept  the 
already  started  enemy  upon  the  go,  and,  as  the  zouaves 
did  at  a  later  hour,  driven  the  exposed  gunners  from  their 
artillery  with  less  loss  than  afterwards  befel,  —  for  we,  at 
least,  were  green  enough  to  go  anywhere  without  hes 
itation  ;  and  the  subsequent  Confederate  reinforcements 
from  Harper's  Ferry  might  have  come  too  late.  But  we 
knew  nothing  of  the  importance  of  prompt  action  at.  that 
hour;  to  stand  still  upon  the  exposed  hill-top  would  be 
murder  ;  moreover,  General  Sturgis  had  orders  to  hold 
back  his  division  —  most  of  the  regiments  being  out  of 
ammunition  —  and  let  the  rear  pass  in  front  of  him. 
Accordingly  our  colonel,  seeing  no  supports  behind  him, 
ordered  the  regiment  to  retire  under  the  brow  of  the  hill 
and -lie  down.  The  shells  hurtled  around  us  as  we  climbed 
the  fence  in  retreat ;  yet  many,  indignant  at  the  notion  of 
falling  back,  and  fearing  more  the  bayonets  of  their  com 
patriots  while  getting  over  the  fence  than  the  missiles  of 
the  enemy,  waited  a  bit,  until  the  line  had  crossed,  before 
following.  The  Confederate  General  D.  H.  Hill  says  he 
caused  his  guns  to  open  upon  an  "  imposing  force  of  Yan 
kees  "  at  twelve  hundred  yards  distance,  and  routed  them 
by  artillery  fire  alone,  unaided  by  musketry.  It  is  possible 
that  this  imposing  force  was  the  Thirty-Fifth  going  up  and 
retiring  as  above.  But  they  were  neither  routed  nor  flur 
ried,  and  would  have  gone  forward  as  readily  then,  when 
they  saw  the  enemy  running,  as  afterwards  when  our  men 
fell  back.  As  we  thus  came  back  over  the  fence  our  bat 
teries,  mistaking  us  for  the  enemy,  commenced  firing  into 
us.  Colonel  Carruth  waved  his  hat,  without  effect  j  then 
his  voice  rang  out,  "  Unfurl  those  colors  and  wave  them  ! 
Steady  —  not  too  high  !  "  We  had  only  the  blue  and  the 
white  flags,  no  stars  and  stripes.  No  more  shots  came 


44  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

from  the  rear.     Just  under  the  crest  of  the  hill  we  halted 
and  lay  down  upon  the  dried  grass  of  the  field. 

Behind  us  was  the  deep  valley  of  the  bed  of  the  creekr 
into  which  the  Confederate  shells,  passing  over  us,  went 
crashing  among  the  trees  about  the  bridge,  almost  making; 
the  crossing  there  impracticable.  On  our  left  regiments 
were  soon  seen  coming  up,  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts 
among  the  first,  followed  by  our  Company  A,  which  now 
rejoined  the  regiment ;  its  position  in  rear  of  the  Twenty- 
First  having  given  the  men  of  that  regiment  grounds  for 
their  subsequent  belief  that  they  crossed  before  the  Thirty- 
Fifth.  In  front  we,  except  the  few  videttes  thrown  forward, 
could  see  nothing,  the  hill  concealing  all  in  that  direction ; 
but  to  our  right  the  view  was  quite  unobstructed,  the  land 
being  lower  for  some  distance,  then  rising  gently  to  the 
haystacks  and  houses  of  the  town.  This  space  was  un 
occupied  at  first ;  it  was  the  interval  in  the  centre  of  the 
battle-field  which  separated  the  right  and  left  wings  of  the 
army.  The  sounds  of  battle  had  subsided  in  the  direction 
of  the  right  wing.  We  learned  afterwards  that  their  fight 
was  for  the  most  part  over,  thus  early  in  the  day.  A  shell, 
skimming  the  crest  of  the  hill,  stole  a  haversack  from  a 
man's  back  as  he  lay  upon  the  ground,  and  sent  it  flying 
towards  the  stream  below,  exciting  merriment  in  spite  of 
the  gravity  of  the  situation.  The  whirring  of  the  shells 
above  us  had  a  drowsing  effect,  and  some  of  our  men 
dozed ;  others  munched  hard  bread  and  conversed  in  low 
tones ;  some  went  for  water  by  detail,  filling  canteens 
from  the  warm,  soft  water  of  the  creek.  At  such  a  time 
men's  characters  reveal  themselves :  the  religiously  dis 
posed  bends  his  thoughts  on  Heaven;  the  less  devout 
watches  the  ants  busy  as  usual  at  their  never-ending 
labors,  and  wishes  he  could  be  as  small  as  they  for  a  few 
hours;  while  the  more  thoughtless  cuts  his  tobacco  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  45 

enjoys  its  soothing  influence.  We  lay  thus  several  hours 
while  the  troops  were  coming  over.  It  was  slow  work 
passing  Wilcox's  Division  and  Hawkins's  Brigade  through 
the  narrow  defile  of  the  stone  bridge,  only  twelve  feet 
wide,  and  under  cross  fire  of  artillery.  No  fords  were 
used  near  the  bridge,  if  any  practicable  ones  existed 
there ;  even  the  name  of  the  stream  was  unknown  at 
first.  Colonel  Ferrero  had  offered  to  try  to  ford  below 
the  bridge  in  the  morning,  but  the  attempt  was  dis 
couraged. 

Regiments  moved  over  the  hill  to  the  left,  and  some 
from  behind  passed  steadily  over  us  through  our  ranks, 
some  of  the  men  seeming  to  prefer  to  join  us  for  awhile, 
but  their  officers  preventing.  On  the  right  we  saw  for  the 
first  time  a  line  of  skirmishers  go  forward  in  good  style, 
firing  and  loading.  It  was  a  pretty  sight.  They  reached 
the  haystacks,  and  presently  these  burst  into  flame  ;  cheer 
ing  was  heard  in  front,  and  it  began  to  look  like  victory. 
A  Confederate  battery  was  captured  by  the  Ninth  New 
York  (Hawkins's  Zouaves)  and  held  a  short  time.  It 
was  the  crisis  of  the  battle  ;  at  this  hour  the  Confederate 
line  was  badly  broken  —  as  we  learn  from  writers  who 
were  present  on  that  side  —  their  men  had  scattered 
into  the  town  and  could  not  be  rallied.  Orders  had 
been  issued  for  our  brigade  to  be  relieved,  and  sent 
down  to  the  road  by  the  bridge.  Lieutenant  Hudson, 
aide,  was  on  the  way  to  transmit  them  to  Colonel  Carruth- 
but  the  order  from  General  Cox,  corps  commander, 
mentioned  below,  arrived  first,  to  quite  a  contrary  pur 
port.  For  now  came  a  turn  in  affairs.  It  was  between 
four  and  five  o'clock.  The  light  troops  of  A.  P.  Hill, 
Confederate  general,  which  had  left  Harper's  Ferry  in  the 
morning,  marching  in  haste,  had  arrived  at  the  nick  of 
time  for  them ;  and,  catching  our  left,  General  Rodman's 


46  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Division,  somewhat  disorganized  by  its  successful  advance, 
took  them  upon  the  flank  and  pressed  them  back  irresist 
ibly.  Back  came  our  line  as  swiftly  as  it  had  advanced, 
but  more  scattered,  the  Zouaves  badly  cut  up.  There 
was  danger  that  the  enemy  would  follow  and  overtake  the 
whole  in  a  mass  at  the  bridge  head ;  they  must  be  stopped 
at  any  cost.  Colonel  Ferrero  had  ordered  our  colonel  to 
form  a  line  across  the  ravine,  below  and  on  our  right,  and 
stop  all  stragglers,  which  had  been  obeyed. 

One  of  our  batteries  had  come  over  the  bridge  and 
opened  fire  in  front  of  us.  Now,  out  of  ammunition,  one 
section  of  it  limbered  up  hurriedly,  and  prepared  to  fall 
back.  General  Cox,  seeing  the  danger  of  panic,  gave  the 
order,  "  Send  that  big  regiment  over  the  hill ! "  Lieutenant 
Hudson  told  the  general  of  Colonel  Ferrero's  order.  Gen 
eral  Cox  replied :  "  Yes,  I  know  that,  but  the  regiment 
must  move  at  once ;  you  see  the  need  of  haste."  A  line 
of  skirmishers  along  the  brow  of  the  next  hill  were  shoot 
ing  minies  uncomfortably  our  way.  As  soon  as  the  order 
was  passed,  Colonel  Carruth  started  up :  "  Attention ! 
Thirty-Fifth."  We  rose  up  at  once  and  faced  the  front, 
forming  forward  a  little,  the  companies  moving  to  their 
positions.  "  Left  —  face  !  Forward  —  march  !  "  Hardly 
had  the  regiment  faced  and  moved  a  little  distance  when 
the  battery  came  dashing  full  speed  into  us,  breaking  our 
line  for  a  moment,  but  the  men  undismayed  closed  up 
immediately.  A  little  way  to  the  left,  then  facing  to  the 
front,  with  a  hurrah,  the  regiment  went  at  a  double  quick, 
in  line  of  battle,  over  the  hill  and  down  the  slope  into 
the  valley  towards  Sharpsburg. 

We  passed  the  remnants  of  the  first  line  and  kept  on 
to  a  rail  fence,  partly  broken  down,  enclosing  a  lane,  into 
which  some  of  the  men  climbed.  Here  we  halted,  and, 
laying  our  rifles  upon  the  rails,  opened  fire  at  will  upon 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  47 

the  enemy  coming  on  to  follow  up  their  success.  On  our 
left  the  other  regiments  of  our  brigade  —  said,  to  be  almost 
out  of  ammunition — were  also  engaged  or  lying  down 
waiting  to  repel  the  foe  with  the  bayonet ;  but  the  line  in 
that  direction  bent  back  exposing  our  flank.  Behind  us 
was  the  slope  of  the  hill  down  which  we  had  come ;  in 
front  was  a  ploughed  field,  sloping  up  to  a  wall  of  the 
most  solid  construction,  about  two  hundred  yards  off; 
on  the  left  front,  cornfields  with  the  high  stalks  and 
waving  blades  uncut.  Beyond  these  the  hill  rose  more 
steeply  to  the  summit,  upon  which  were  the  enemy's  bat 
teries.  Behind  the  wall  and  in  the  cornfield  was  the  Con 
federate  infantry ;  their  right  overlapping  our  left,  making 
a  cross  fire  upon  our  left  companies. 

Our  first  fire  was  a  rattling  volley ;  then  came  the  mo 
mentary  interval  occupied  in  loading.  The  rifles  were,  of 
course,  muzzle  loaders,  with  iron  ramrods ;  the  cartridges 
were  new  and  the  brown  paper  of  the  toughest  description, 
so  that  strong  fingers  were  required  to  tear  out  the  conical 
ball  and  the  little  paper  cup  of  gunpowder.  Emptying 
these  into  the  muzzle  and  ramming  home  and  capping  the 
piece  took  time  —  seemingly  a  long  time  in  the  hurry  of 
action  —  and  to  discharge  sixty  rounds  in  this  way  occupies 
an  hour  or  more  of  intense  exertion.  The  men  finding 
this  difficulty  settled  down  to  the  work  steadily,  loading 
and  firing,  aiming  now  to  the  wall,  then  to  the  cornfield, 
and  then  elevating  the  sight  pieces  and  trying  for  the  can 
noneers  about  the  hostile  guns.  It  was  a  steady  roll  of 
musketry.  The  officers  directed  the  aim  of  the  men, 
Captain  Cheever's  quaint  phrase  being,  "  Pop  away !  boys, 
Pop  away !  "  the  file  closers  refraining  from  firing  at  first, 
but  watching  their  men  as  Colonel  Wild  in  his  instructions 
had  directed. 

The  enemy  had  not  been  idle,  our  men  being  hit  behind 


48  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

our  battery — where  N.  I.  Sweeney,  of  Company  C,  fell  — 
and  while  we  were  advancing,  and  now  at  the  fence.  The 
force  of  a  minie  ball  or  piece  of  shell  striking  any  solid  por 
tion  of  the  person  is  astonishing ;  it  comes  like  a  blow  from 
a  sledge  hammer,  and  the  recipient  finds  himself  sprawling 
on  the  ground  before  he  is  conscious  of  being  hit ;  then 
he  feels  about  for  the  wound,  the  benumbing  blow  dead 
ening  sensation  for  a  few  moments.  Unless  struck  in  the 
head  or  about  the  heart  men  mortally  wounded  live  some 
time,  often  in  great  pain,  and  toss  about  upon  the  ground. 
So  now,  while  we  were  firing,  men  began  to  fall  headlong, 
or  drop  their  guns  and  seize  some  portion  of  their  bodies ; 
arms  dripping  with  blood  were  held  up  to  be  stanched, 
and  ghastly  faces  were  turned  to  a  friend  for  a  last  word. 
The  dropping  shot  and  pieces  of  shell  from  the  enemy 
raised  the  dust  in  little  puffs  in  the  ploughed  land  before 
and  on  the  slope  behind  us.  Now  and  then  our  men  or 
the  Confederates  raised  a  shout  or  yell  at  some  well-aimed 
missile,  a  flag  was  waved  or  the  enemy's  field  pieces 
changed  position.  It  was  work  in  dead  earnest  and 
intensely  exciting.  The  rising  white  smoke  was  quickly 
wafted  away.  One  spoke  to  his  comrade,  turned  aside 
and,  looking  back,  saw  him  weltering  upon  the  ground ; 
but  there  was  no  time  for  thought  then  —  load  and  fire! 
—  load  and  fire  ! 

Our  regiment  being  so  large  and  so  steadily  engaged 
drew  special  attention  from  the  Confederate  batteries  and 
line.  The  bullets,  zip  !  zip  !  close  to  the  ear,  shells  burst 
with  sulphurous  smoke,  and  pieces  flew  in  every  direction. 
Our  wounded  accumulated  rapidly,  and  the  motionless 
bodies  of  the  dead,  upon  the  back  or  face,  with  pallid 
faces  and  arms  thrown  out.  Some  men  repeated  as  they 
fired  a  set  phrase  or  oath,  expressive  of  their  feelings. 
The  color  guard  especially  suffered.  Color-Sergeant  Moses 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  49 

C.  Bartlett  was  wounded  and  sent  to  the  rear.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Carruth  was  disabled  by  a  wound  in  the  side  of 
the  neck,  near  the  jugular  vein,  and  obliged  to  leave  the 
field.  Captain  King,  acting  major,  walked  along  the  line 
directing  the  aim  of  the  men  to  the  cornfield,  in  which  the 
enemy  were  apparently  forming  for  a  charge,  their  flags 
waving  in  the  setting  sun,  —  he  even  took  a  gun  and  fired 
it.  Cheers  were  raised,  but  all  were  too  busy  to  waste 
much  breath.  The  rifles  with  repeated  discharges  began 
'  to  get  too  hot  to  hold.  Many  of  them  became  clogged  by 
the  dirt  from  the  powder,  and  the  ball  could  not  be  forced 
home ;  but  there  were  serviceable  ones  left  upon  the 
ground,  dropped  by  the  dead  and  wounded.  Thus  a 
man  used  two  or  three  guns  before  his  ammunition  was 
expended. 

While  this  was  going  on  Colonel  Ferrero's  aides,  Lieu 
tenants  Walcott  and  Hudson,  were  with  General  Sturgis 
at  the  bridge.  Lieutenant  Walcott  said :  "  General,  our 
regiments  can't  hold  that  position  any  longer ;  to  my 
certain  knowledge  they  are  mostly  out  of  ammunition, 
and  some  have  been  quite  so  for  nearly  an  hour."  To 
which  the  general  replied :  "By  -  — ,  they  must  hold  it ; 
we've  nothing  else  to  hold  it  with ! "  About  the  same  time 
General  Burnside  was  calling  upon  General  McClellan  for 
reinforcements,  but  without  success. 

As  the  sun  went  down  the  weight  of  fire  of  the  Con 
federate  infantry  increased  rather  than  slackened,  showing 
additional  troops  for  them;  but  none  came  for  us.  Word 
was  passed  that  we  were  to  be  relieved  by  some  Con 
necticut  regiments,  and  glances  were  cast  behind  to  see 
if  they  were  advancing.  Ammunition  was  failing  us,  and 
Captains  Andrews  (acting  lieutenant-colonel),  King  and 
Lathrop  passed  along  the  line,  opening  the  boxes  of  the 
fallen  and  distributing  the  cartridges  found.  A  steady, 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

but  much  weaker  fire  was  continued,  for  our  line  had 
grown  wofully  thin,  and  the  disabled  seemed  as  numerous 
as  the  fighting  men.  It  grew  dark  apace,  and  the  flashes 
of  the  guns  of  the  Confederate  line  twinkled  like  a  display 
of  fireworks. 

No  relief  came.  Our  line  had  dwindled  to  a  skirmish 
line.  Captain  King,  struck  in  seven  places,  was  helped 
off  the  field  with  the  colors.  The  last  cartridge  was 
expended.  No  communication  from  the  rear  had  been 
received  for  some  time  —  we  seemed  to  be  facing  the 
enemy  alone  —  it  could  be  endured  no  longer.  Word 
was  passed  in  an  undertone,  "  Fall  back  to  the  hill ! " 
and  the  relics  of  the  regiment,  amid  a  perfect  storm  of 
bullets,  retreated  to  the  hill.  Officers  and  men  had  done 
all  that  could  be  asked  of  them. 

The  enemy  did  not  follow.  The  object  of  the  advance 
of  our  brigade  had  been  secured,  his  forward  movement 
stopped,  and  the  position  gained  on  the  west  bank  saved. 
General  McClellan  had  sent  word  to  Burnside,  "  Hold 
the  bridge  at  all  hazards ;  if  that  is  lost  all  is  lost."  The 
bridge  was  held.  It  was  twilight.  Behind  the  hill  regi 
ments  were  drawn  up  in  solid  lines  —  the  relief  that  did 
not  come  to  us.  Seeing  their  steady  appearance,  our  men 
stopped  and  came  together.  Most  of  them  went  down  to 
the  creek  to  drink  and  wash  the  powder  and  blood  stains 
from  their  hands  and  faces,  which  were  a  sight  to  behold ; 
then  formed  in  remnants  of  companies  and  marched  up 
the  road,  ascending  the  precipitous  cliff  to  the  left.  At  a 
bend  in  the  road  some  thoughtful  commissary  —  blessed 
be  his  name  —  had  placed  a  barrel  partly  filled  with 
chunks  of  boiled  fresh  beef.  Each  man  as  he  passed 
dipped  into  this  and  moved  on,  munching  a  huge  piece 
for  his  late  dinner.  Arrived  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  an 
ammunition  wagon  was  found  and  cartridge  boxes  replen- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  51 

ishetl.  It  was  too  dark  for  further  contest,  and  the  conflict 
had  died  away  ;  the  enemy  also  had  got  all  of  fighting  they 
wanted  for  the  day.  Arms  were  stacked,  and  the  men 
rested.  Captain  Cheever  lay  here  upon  a  blanket,  injured 
by  some  missile  at  the  time  the  regiment  retired  behind 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  when  first  we  ascended  it  after  cross 
ing;  but  he  had,  nevertheless,  continued  in  command  of 
his  company  until  now.  Inquiries  for  friends  passed 
around ;  hands  were  shaken  when  chums  met,  as  if  after 
a  long  absence ;  and  low  talk  was  busy  about  the  events  of 
the  day.  It  had  been  an  afternoon  in  the  valley  of  death. 
In  the  evening  Captain  Lathrop  and  Lieutenant  Hudson, 
receiving  information  of  wounded  men  within  reach  from 
Corporal  Whitman*  (for  he  and  several  of  Company  G 
appear  to  have  been  the  last  fighting  men  to  leave  the 
rail  fence),  tried,  with  a  squad  of  men,  to  make  their  way 
in  the  intense  darkness  down  to  the  fence  to  care  for  the 
wounded ;  but  the  party  was  stopped  by  a  line  of  pickets 
from  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania,  who  had  orders  to  per 
mit  no  movement  to  be  made  which  could  possibly  renew 
the  action.  The  officers  were  permitted  to  go  beyond  the 
pickets,  but  were  cautioned  not  to  go  far,  and  they  did  not 
reach  the  fence.  However,  several  of  the  wounded  were 
found  who  had  crawled  up  to  the  pickets,  and  these  were 
placed  in  blankets,  men  holding  the  corners,  and  slowly 
and  painfully  carried  down  the  hill  and  across  the  bridge 
to  the  temporary  hospitals  in  the  barns  thereabouts.  Re 
turning  to  the  regiment,  so  overcome  with  fatigue  as 
scarcely  to  be  able  to  drag  one  foot  after  the  other,  they 
found  the  men  asleep  behind  their  stacks  of  arms ;  and, 
rolling  such  covers  as  could  be  found  about  them,  they 

*  Corporal  Frank  M.  Whitman  received,  February  21,  1874,  from  the  Secretary  of 
War,  one  of  the  bronze  "Medals  of  Honor"  conferred  upon  enlisted  men  only  in 
cases  of  distinguished  gallantry,  in  accordance  with  an  Act  of  Congress. 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

also  dropped  at  once  into  the  sleep  of  utter  exhaustion  — 
only  the  guards,  and  those  kept  awake  by  the  pain  of 
wounds,  noticed  the  showers  during  the  night. 

The  next  morning  was  quiet  for  some  time.  We  had 
now  in  the  daylight  an  opportunity  to  note  the  losses  of 
the  regiment :  Companies  B,  G  and  K  were  each  repre 
sented  only  by  a  small  group  of  men,  their  three  or  four 
stacks  of  arms  seeming  incredibly  small.  No  field  or 
staff  officer  appeared  except  Adjutant  Wales,  who  had 
been  struck  by  a  ball  but  not  wounded.  He  had  left  the 
hospital  to  join  the  regiment,  with  an  Enfield  rifle  in  hand, 
"to  get  a  lick  at  the  rebs,"  as  he  told  Lieutenant  Hudson. 
Assistant  Surgeon  Munsell  had  been  wounded  at  the  field 
hospital  by  a  piece  of  shell.  Of  the  line  officers,  Captains 
Bartlett  and  Niles  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded  at  the 
rail  fence ;  Captains  King,  Cheever  and  Oliver  were  dis 
abled  by  wounds ;  Lieutenant  Palmer  was  killed,  and 
Lieutenants  Hood,  Hodges,  Baldwin,  Ingell,  Brooks,  Park 
and  Blake  were  in  the  list  of  wounded.  We  had  lost  Cap 
tain  Pratt  and  Lieutenants  Williams  and  Hill  at  South 
Mountain.  Only  Captains  Andrews  and  Lathrop  and 
some  half  dozen  lieutenants  remained  for  duty  with  the 
regiment  that  morning. 

Of  the  enlisted  men  the  following  were  killed  outright, 
or  died  of  their  wounds  soon  afterwards :  . 

Company  A  —  Sergeant  Edward  Peggren  ;  Corporal 
Robert  L.  Lincoln. 

Company  B  —  Corporal  William  C.  Colby;  musician, 
Benjamin  H.  Rogers ;  privates,  Joseph  Cossar,  David 
R.  Hinckley,  George  W.  Hodgdon,  Jeremiah  Long,  Jr., 
Caleb  C.  Pike  and  Alphonso  P.  Reed. 

Company  C —  Sergeant  Henry  Bowen;  privates,  George 
W.  Alden,  Joseph  M.  Goulding,  John  A.  Lane,  Joseph  T. 
Pratt,  Nathaniel  I.  Sweeney  and  Charles  E.  Dam. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  53 

Company  D  —  Luther  F.  Read. 

Company  E  —  Privates,  George  Henry,  Loren  R.  Brack- 
ett,  Levi  A.  Brandage,  Richard  H.  Cox,  Philip  Donnehoe, 
Joseph  V.  Sloan  and  James  T.  F.  Smith. 

Company  F  —  Corporal  Thomas  Clay;  privates,  Am 
brose  Hinds,  Charles  E.  M.  Welch  and  Joseph  Wood. 

Company  G — Privates,  Stephen  C.  Adams,  Herbert  M. 
Drew,  George  W.  Ellis,  Henry  O.  George,  Andrew  J.  Gile, 
William  Hackett,  Henry  A.  Hoyt,  Harrison  W.  Sargent, 
Charles  H.  Tarbox,  Watson  S.  Williams,  Clarence  H. 
Woodman,  George  A.  Young  and  Augustus  W.  Dresser. 

Company  H  —  Privates,  David  W.  Gushing,  William 
Pike,  Charles  H.  Robbins,  William  W.  Smith  and  Nathan 
F.  Winslow. 

Company  I  —  Corporal  Edmund  E.  Hatton  ;  privates, 
Ralph  A.  Jones,  Charles  Sulkoski,  Nathan  C.  Treadwell, 
Patrick  Walsh  and  Joseph  P.  White. 

Company  K  —  Sergeant  Alfred  C.  Earle  ;  Corporal 
Roscoe  Bradley;  privates,  Dearborn  S.  Blake,  Francis  D. 
Brown,  Henry  H.  Cleveland,  Tappan  S.  Eaton,  Leander 
W.  Faunce,  Horace  Goodwin,  Horatio  B.  Hackett,  Charles 
Inhof,  Joseph  Lambert,  James  Rust,  Ivori  R.  Stillings, 
Charles  T.  Wenborn,  Ai  B.  Smith  and  Byley  Lyford. 

These  were  the  sixty-nine  heroes  who  laid  down  their 
lives  for  that  terrible  day's  work.  Company  B  was  the 
color  company.  Companies  G  and  K  were  subjected  to  a 
cross  fire,  which  accounts  for  their  great  loss.  There  were 
also  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  wounded,  and  some 
missing ;  making  in  all,  at  South  Mountain  and  Antietam, 
of  the  officers  and  men  seventy-eight  dead  and  about  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  wounded.  Between  two  hundred 
and  fifty  and  three  hundred  men  only  were  for  duty  behind 
the  stacks  of  arms  on  the  eighteenth  of  September. 

At  first  the  regiment  seemed  wiped  out,  but  many  re- 


54  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

joined  in  course  of  the  day  who  had  gone  off  with  the 
wounded  or  on  detail  duty.  Men  found  their  clothing 
and  equipments  bored  by  bullets  in  every  conceivable 
way.  He  was  the  exception  who  had  not  some  curiosity 
of  the  kind  to  exhibit.  One  man  found  a  bullet  hole 
through  the  flesh  of  his  thigh,  which  he  was  not  aware  of 
in  the  excitement  until  he  went  to  the  creek  to  wash. 
Thrilling  accounts  were  given  of  the  deaths  of  the  fallen, 
or  of  adventures  in  the  fight.  Walsh,  the  man  with  the 
tea  kettle,  lay  dead  by  the  rail  fence  with  the  other  noble 
fellows. 

The  troops  were  withdrawn  a  little  under  the  crest  of 
the  hill,  after  the  Confederates  had  observed  us  and  sent 
several  shells  about  our  ears,  without  harm,  as  a  morning 
greeting.  It  was  showery,  and  the  soil  became  slippery 
mud  at  once.  The  order  of  last  night  was  continued,  to 
do  nothing  likely  to  renew  the  action.  If  our  generals 
had  all  they  wanted  of  fighting  we  were  content,  we  also 
had  a  sufficiency ;  and,  although  the  regiment  would  have 
done  its  duty,  the  men  had  no  present  hunger  for  battle. 
There  was  little  movement  upon  either  side ;  both  parties 
were  repairing  damages. 

The  losses  to  the  armies  had  been,  according  to  Captain 
Phisterer,  —  Union:  killed,  2.010;  wounded,  9,416;  miss 
ing,  1,043;  total,  12,469.  Confederate  total,  25,899. 

At  evening  our  brigade  was  at  length  relieved  by  fresh 
troops,  and  we  marched  back  over  the  bridge  to  get  rations 
and  our  packs,  which  had  been  left  on  the  east  side,  as 
above  mentioned,  before  the  bridge  was  taken.  That 
night  we  slept  in  an  apple  orchard  near  the  crossing. 

Next  day  it  was  found  that  General  Lee  had  withdrawn 
his  army  to  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac.  Our  brigade 
was  formed,  and  marched  over  the  bridge  again  and  across 
the  battle-field.  On  the  field  Colonel  Ferrero  read  his 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  55 

commission  as  a  brigadier-general,  just  received.  It  was 
accepted  as  a  recognition  of  the  services  of  the  brigade 
in  the  battle,  and  the  announcement  was  greeted  by  loud 
cheering  and  congratulations,  especially  among  the  older 
regiments.  We  then  passed  the  rail  fence,  where  the 
dead  still  lay,  the  stone  wall  and  the  cornfield,  where 
the  enemy  had  been,  and  the  station  of  their  batteries 
on  the  hill,  marked  by  the  bodies  of  the  horses  killed 
in  the  action.  We  then  turned  to  the  left,  away  from 
Sharpsburg,  and,  after  a  few  miles,  came  out  upon  the 
high  land  overlooking  the  Antietam,  near  the  Iron-works, 
and  here  made  our  bivouac.  We  staid  upon  these  hills 
until  the  twenty-sixth,  looking  out  upon  the  beautiful 
amphitheatre  of  hills  through  which  ran  the  placid 
Antietam. 

On  Sunday,  the  twenty-first,  by  direction  of  General 
Burnside,  special  services  were  held  in  memory  of  the 
dead,  with  prayers,  addresses  and  sacred  hymns,  which 
were  very  impressive  and  affecting. 

The  regiment  was  for  a  day  or  two  under  command  of 
Captain  J.  G.  Wright,  Acting  Major  of  the  Fifty-First  New 
York ;  afterwards,  for  several  days,  Captain  Andrews  com 
manded.  Chaplain  Miller  arrived  on  the  twenty-second ; 
and,  on  the  following  day,  Major  Willard  returned  from 
Washington,  quite  troubled  in  mind  because  he  had  no 
share  in  our  first  battles.  The  first  mail  of  letters  for  two 
weeks,  except  a  few  on  the  twenty-first,  was  opened,  and 
late  newspapers  reached  camp.  We  learned  of  the  great 
slaughter  done  and  suffered  by  our  right  wing,  the  death 
of  General  Mansfield,  wound  of  General  Hooker,  and  the 
other  losses.  Also  some  of  the  Fifth  Corps  came  into 
camp  and  told  of  the  disastrous  reconnoissance  by  a 
division  of  that  corps  across  the  Potomac,  a  short  dis 
tance  from  our  station. 


56  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

We  now  began  to  think  seriously  and  estimate  the  task 
in  hand.  We  numbered  eight  or  nine  officers  and  three 
hundred  and  forty-eight  men  with  the  regiment.  It  was 
but  one  month  since  we  had  left  Lynnfield,  and  two-thirds 
of  our  number  were  gone ;  at  this  rate  how  many  would 
be  left  at  the  end  of  the  three  years?  The  patriotic  fervor 
which  had  sustained  us  did  not  effervesce  so  noticeably, 
but  began  to  weaken  somewhat  in  the  presence  of  such 
stern  realities.  As  one  man  expressed  it,  "  patriotism  was 
played  out,"  meaning  that  the  hurrah-boys  spirit  had  evap 
orated.  We  had  seen  the  slain  of  the  Confederates  on 
South  Mountain  and  our  own  dead  at  Antietam,  and  the 
grave  fact  that  we  had  engaged  to  be,  and  had  become, 
slayers  of  our  fellowmen  stared  us  in  the  face,  without  the 
glamour  of  flash  oratory  and  colored  lights  about  it.  The 
thoughtful  ones  compared  this  fact  with  the  religious 
teachings  of  New  England,  and  found  it  hard  to  reconcile 
their  duty  with  the  gospel  of  the  peaceful  Jesus.  Truly, 
one  should  not  be  nurtured  among  the  doves  if  he  is  fated 
to  contend  with  the  eagles.  The  depression  which  usually 
affects  the  mind  for  a  time  after  the  excitement  of  severe 
battle  was  upon  us. 

The  less  easily  impressed  found  amusement  in  bathing 
in  the  creek,  hunting  for  paw-paws,  and  even  horse-racing 
was  tried,  until  the  quartermaster  objected  to  it  as  dele 
terious  to  Government  property.  Some  found  relief  by  visit 
ing  the  hospitals  and  caring  for  friends.  Our  hearts  were 
not  yet  hardened  to  the  battle,  nor  had  we  learned  to  sub 
mit  patiently  to  the  long  delays  in  camp.  We  were  cheered 
by  the  calls  of  visitors  from  home.  In  this  camp  Mayor  Fay, 
of  Chelsea,  and  Miss  Gilson  were  introduced  to  the  regi 
ment.  They  were  ministering  angels  to  our  wounded  on 
this  and  many  subsequent  occasions.  Rev.  J.  G.  Barthol 
omew  and  Messrs.  A.  Josselyn  and  William  Barton,  of 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  57 

Roxbury,  visited  camp  about  the  first  of  October  and 
tasted  life  in  the  bivouac.  Mrs.  N.  A.  Moulton  and 
Eben  Manson,  of  Newburyport,  left  home  immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Antietam,  taking  with  them  two  trunks 
filled  with  lint,  bandages,  and  delicacies  for  the  sick  and 
wounded.  They  visited  all  the  hospitals  where  men  of 
the  Thirty-Fifth  could  be  found  ;  and,  while  they  were 
searching^  for  wounded  men  from  Company  B,  they  did 
not  overlook  those  from  other  companies.  They  visited 
the  field  hospitals  at  Antietam,  and  came  to  the  regiment 
when  we  were  at  the  Iron-works. 

The  Kanawha  Division  and  General  J.  D.  Cox,  our 
corps  commander,  left  the  Ninth  Corps  to  return  to  their 
department  west  of  the  mountains.  They  were  of  good 
fighting  material,  and  are  entitled  to  the  first  honors  of 
South  Mountain.  It  was  General  Cox  and  his  men  who, 
early  in  the  day,  turning  a  reconnoissance  into  a  battle, 
gained  and  held  the  south  side  of  the  pass  until  support 
arrived  to  secure  the  victory. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  we  moved  by  way  of  the  Iron-works 
to  the  more  level  ground  on  the  east  side 'of  the  Antietam, 
and  went,  into  regular  camp  near  a  brick  house,  making 
shelters  of  rails  and  corn  stalks.  Camp  duty,  with  all  the 
formalities,  sick  call,  orderlie's  call,  morning  company  drill, 
and  afternoon  battalion  movements  and  dress  parade,  was 
undertaken  in  earnest  under  Major  Willard.  Our  first 
grand  review  of  the  Ninth  Army  Corps  was  held  October 
3,  in  the  fields  north  of  our  camp  ground,  the  President, 
Lincoln  himself,  riding  past,  accompanied  by  Generals 
McClellan,  Burnside  and  others  —  all  smiling  and  appar 
ently  on  the  best  of  terms  with  each  other. 

The  nights  were  growing  cold  and  frosty,  and  the  thin 
Confederate  blankets,  which  many  had  not  been  able  to 
exchange,  were  a  poor  protection  from  the  weather.  We 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

were  pleased,  therefore,  to  receive,  on  the  fifth,  wall  tents 
for  the  officers  and  shelter  tents  for  the  men,  the  latter 
being  the  first  of  the  kind  we  had  possessed.  They  were 
pieces  of  stout  drilling  or  light  duck  cloth,  about  five  feet 
and  a  half  square,  with  buttons  and  holes  along  three  of 
the  edges.  By  joining  two,  four,  or  six  of  these,  and  laying 
them  over  a  ridge  pole  supported  by  two  crotched  stakes, 
a  low  tent  was  made,  much  more  comfortable  aa  an  abode 
than  one  would  imagine.  Each  man  carried  his  piece 
upon  his  pack  on  the  inarch,  and  every  night  the  little 
shelters  sprang  up  like  mushrooms,  almost  as  soon  as  the 
halt  was  ordered.  These  were  the  only  roofs  over  our 
heads  until  the  end  of  our  service,  with  brief  exceptions ; 
and  many  a  soldier  will  remember,  almost  with  affection, 
his  little  square  of  weather-stained,  scorched  or  patched 
shelter  tent,  which  protected  him  from  the  cold  rains  and 
snows  of  winter  and  the  burning  suns  of  summer. 

On  the  seventh  of  October  the  regiment  again  broke 
camp  and  climbed  the  mountains,  eastward,  over  roads 
rough  and  full  of  obstacles,  descending  into  Pleasant 
Valley  —  a  spot  fittingly  named  —  and  camped  near  the 
opening  of  the  valley,  under  Maryland  Heights,  three  or 
four  miles  from  Harper's  Ferry.  The  rough  life  in  our 
rude  huts  of  rails  had  the  natural  effect  upon  the  personal 
appearance  of  our  men,  and  at  the  inspection  held  imme 
diately  after  our  arrival  we  were  honored  with  the  infor 
mation  that  ours  was  the  dirtiest  regiment  in  the  brigade. 
To  think  that  we  could  have  so  soon  rivalled,  even  sur 
passed  the  veterans  in  their  most  noticeable  characteristic ! 
The  major  felt  hurt,  and  worked  incessantly  and  effectually 
to  remedy  the  deformity. 

Our  ranks  gradually  swelled  by  the  return  of  conva 
lescents.  A  lot  of  knapsacks  —  five  hundred  selected  at 
random  from  the  one  thousand  which  the  regiment  left  at 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  59 

Arlington — were  sent  up  from  Washington,  and  some 
lucky  men  found  their  own  among  them.  A  change  of 
underclothing  had  become  extremely  desirable.  On  the 
tenth  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire  Regiment,  afterwards 
our  fast  friends,  joined  the  brigade.  They  were  remark 
able  for  their  colonel  —  the  cordial  Walter  Harriman  — 
for  their  dark-blue  overcoats,  handsome  new  Springfield 
rifles,  and,  last  but  not  least,  their  brass  band.  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Carruth  returned  on  the  thirteenth  of  October  and 
took  command,  his  wound  being  sufficiently  healed.  The 
most  earnest  efforts  were  now  made  by  him  to  improve  the 
regiment  in  field  movements,  especially  the  drill  in  forma 
tions  against  cavalry,  by  fours,  by  platoons,  etc.  Our  first 
brigade  drill  under  General  Ferrero  was  held  on  the  twen 
tieth  of  the  month. 

The  spirit  of  the  men  improved ;  strength  returned  with 
the  cooling  air,  better  food  and  constant  exercise  ;  and  the 
army  was  ready  for  the  field  again.  The  health  of  the 
men  of  the  regiment  was  remarkably  good ;  there  was  no 
case  of  dangerous  disease  in  the  hospital  of  the  regiment. 
There  had  been  no  death  by  disease  in  the  regiment  since 
its  organization. 

Meanwhile  General  Lee's  army  lay  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  along  the  banks  of  the  Opequan,  waiting  for  the 
Union  forces  to  cross  the  Potomac. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

FALL     CAMPAIGN     IN     VIRGINIA  —  SKIRMISH      AT      FAUQUIER 
SULPHUR    SPRINGS,    1862. 

SINCE  leaving  Arlington  the  weather  had  been  dry, 
with  occasional  showers,  which  had  caused  no  special 
discomfort ;  but,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  a  heavy 
rain  storm  prevailed,  swelling  the  brooks  and  softening 
the  roads.  Fortunately  for  us  we  now  had  shelter  tents. 
Orders  were  received  in  the  rain  to  be  ready  to  move, 
and,  at  noon  of  the  twenty-seventh,  the  brigade  fell  into 
column  and  left  the  Pleasant  Valley  —  now  dreary  after 
the  autumnal  rain.  We  marched  directly  to  the  Potomac, 
passing  under  the  canal  by  a  stone  culvert,  through  which 
a  swollen  brook  also  found  a  passage.  A  short  distance 
down  the  river,  at  Berlin,  a  pontoon-bridge  had  been  thrown 
across,  composed  of  the  very  boats  afterwards  so  famous 
for  not  being  at  Fredericksburg  at  the  time  they  were 
wanted.  They  were  the  first  we  had  seen,  and,  with  the 
usual  precautionary  order  to  break  step,  we  passed  the 
famous  river  and  trod  again  upon  Virginia  soil ;  this  time 
no  jubilant  song  announced  the  fact,  but  the  step  was 
steadier  and  more  soldierly.  The  Maryland  campaign 
had  left  but  about  four  hundred  men  for  duty  with  the 
regiment. 

Our  brigade  was  among  the  first  to  cross,  the  Ninth 
Corps,  now  under  General  Wilcox,  going  over  this  bridge, 
followed  by  the  First  Corps.  The  Second  and  Fifth  Corps 
passed  through  Harper's  Ferry  and  Snicker's  Gap,  and  the 


6 1  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Sixth  Corps  crossed  at  another  point.  Moving  slowly 
along  through  Lovettsville  and  the  fine  country  there 
abouts,  we  halted  several  days  near  Wheatland  at  the  end 
of  the  month,  to  make  out  our  first  pay-rolls ;  a  difficult 
task,  so  many  had  been  the  changes  since  leaving  Lynn- 
field. 

There  was  a  charm  in  those  autumnal  days  along  the 
Blue  Ridge  which  it  is  pleasant  to  recall ;  the  purple  hills 
lying  upon  our  right,  the  foliage  blazing  forth  in  ruddy 
hues,  the  soft  sunlight,  the  hazy  air,  and  the  picturesque 
columns  of  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery,  in  glittering 
array,  filling  the  roads  — all  pleased  or  soothed  the  senses. 
The  evening  camp-fires  shone  out  cheerily,  while  the  boys 
gathered  around  and  told  stories,  cracked  jokes,  or  dis 
cussed  the  movements  in  progress.  Some  will  remember 
the  acrid  smoke  from  the  wood  fires  thereabouts,  making 
the  eyelids  sore  and  causing  much  manoeuvring  to  get  to 
windward  of  the  blaze.  General  Pleasanton's  cavalry  pre 
ceded  the  infantry,  and  occupied  the  different  passes,  called 
gaps,  in  the  mountains  as  the  army  advanced.  Thus  we 
came  opposite  and  passed  successively  Snicker's  Gap, 
Ashby's  Gap,  Manassas  Gap  and  Chester  Gap  —  famous 
scenes  of  cavalry  fights  and  of  Stuart's  and  Mosby's 
raids  —  and  by  the  eighth  of  November  had  reached  the 
country  in  front  of  Thornton's  Gap. 

The  itinerary  of  each  day's  march  is  as  follows :  Octo 
ber  27,  crossed  at  Berlin  and  camped  near  Lovettsville. 
October  28,  remained  in  same  place  and  laid  out  camp 
with  company  streets.  October  29,  knapsack  drill  at 
ip  A.  M.  ;  marched  in  afternoon  through  Lovettsville,  about 
eight  miles,  bivouac  j  Companies  G,  I  and  K  in  woods,  in 
support  of  a  battery.  October  30,  reveille  at  3  A.  M.  ; 
marched  at  7  A.  M.,  for  two  hours,  about  four  miles,  to 
Wheatland ;  making  out  pay-rolls  rest  of  day  and  night. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  62 

October  31,  at  Wheatland  all  day;  picket  duty;  muster 
for  pay;  order  to  pack  up  at  10  P.M.;  did  not  march. 
November  i,  brigade  drill  in  the  afternoon;  the  Ninth 
Corps  under  Burnside  again,  with  Second  and  Twelfth 
Corps.  November  2  (Sunday),  marched  at  10  A.  M.,  and 
until  5.30  P.M.,  fifteen  miles;  cannonade  ahead  all  day; 
bivouac  in  field  by  side  of  wood  near  Bloomfield,  called 
Cornstalk  Camp ;  General  Hancock,  in  Snicker's  Gap, 
repulsed  the  enemy.  November  3,  pitched  tents  at  n 
A.  M.  ;  began  a  forced  march  a  little  before  3  p.  M.  of 
seven  miles ;  stopped  in  woods  to  load  rifles ;  passed 
through  Bloomfield,  and  camped  at  5.30  P.  M.  November 
4,  marched  at  9  A.  M.,  about  six  miles,  and  camped  near 
Upperville  ;  firing  heard  all  day.  November  5,  reveille  at 
4.30  A.  M.  ;  marched  from  8  A.M.  to  12  M.  ;  passed  through 
Upperville,  crossed  Manassas  Railroad  at  Piedmont  and 
camped  near  there ;  firing  heard  all  day ;  many  stone 
walls  by  the  road.  November  6,  left  camp  at  9  A.  M.,  but 
waited  in  the  road  until  11.15  A-  M*  >  tnen  marched  fifteen 
miles  in  five  hours ;  camped  near  Orleans ;  cold  and 
windy.  November  7,  snow  all  day ;  marched  from  4  p.  M. 
until  6  P.  M.,  halted  in  mud  hole,  then  marched  back  five 
miles  to  the  right  road ;  water  froze  in  canteens ;  cavalry 
pickets  left  ground  as  we  came  up  to  bivouac  in  woods. 

By  day  the  artillery  of  the  cavalry  would  be  heard  ahead, 
while  we  hurried  forward  to  give  support  if  needed,  or 
waited  until  they  had  reconnoitred  the  country  in  front. 
By  night  some  details  would  lie  out  on  picket  towards  the 
Blue  Ridge,  in  the  moonlight ;  the  baaing  of  a  calf  or 
squealing  of  a  captured  pig  would  be  smothered  with 
difficulty ;  the  rattling  of  sabres  upon  stirrups  and  clatter 
of  hoofs  of  an  approaching  squadron  would  be  heard,  the 
vidette's  challenge,  the  reply,  the  whispered  countersign,  and 
"  Pass,  friends ! " —  all  the  romantic  accompaniments  of  cam- 


63  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

paigning.  But  it  was  not  all  brightness,  for  on  the  seventh,, 
near  Orleans,  the  clouds  hung  gray  with  flurries  of  snow 
all  day,  and  at  night  it  increased  to  a  driving  snow  storm. 
The  scene  was  dismal  and  wintry  as  the  darkness  gath 
ered  around  the  column  plodding  along  over  the  whitened 
ground  amid  the  falling  snow-flakes  —  picturesque,  indeed, 
but  foretokening  future  hardship.  The  spirits  of  the  men 
were  not  enlivened  when,  after  halting  and  jerking  along 
until  late  in  the  evening  down  a  muddy  cut  towards  Hedge- 
man's  River,  or  some  such  branch  of  the  North  Fork  of 
the  Rappahannock,  word  was  received  from  ahead  that  we 
were  upon  the  wrong  road,  the  bridge  was  down,  and  the 
rough  track  of  five  miles  must  be  retraced.  On  such 
occasions  soldiers  are  apt  to  indulge  in  language  more 
strong  than  choice ;  the  right  to  grumble  is  reserved  in 
the  terms  of  enlistment.  The  mud  hole  was  nicknamed 
on  the  spot  Ferrero's  Gap.  Recovering  the  right  road, 
the  brigade  went  into  bivouac  along  it  beside  bright  fires 
of  oak  rails. 

During  this  campaign  the  war  was  waged  "with  the 
gloves  on,"  and  orders  were  very  strict  against  depre 
dation.  On  this  night  a  staff  officer  rode  among  the 
groups  of  shivering  men  about  the  wagons,  repeating, 
"  Take  the  top  rail  only,  men  ;  the  top  rail  only  !  "  Ac 
cordingly  each  man  took  his  turn  in  going  for  a  top  ran\ 
the  fires  did  not  lack  for  fuel,  and,  strange  to  relate,  in 
the  morning  few  even  of  the  bottom  rails  were  left  —  in 
course  of  the  night  even  these  had  become  top  rails.  It 
would  be  a  sad  sight  to  a  land  owner,  but  a  comical  one 
to  the  disinterested  spectator  to  see,  the  moment  a  regi 
ment  went  into  camp  and  ranks  were  broken,  with  what 
speed  the  men  rushed  to  the  nearest  rail  fence,  and  how 
the  rails,  like  Birnam  wood,  seemed  to  take  legs  and  the 
whole  fence  come  marching  back  to  the  stacks  of  arms. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  64 

But  on  this  night  other  events  were  occurring  of  greater 
importance  to  the  future  of  the  army  and  ourselves.  By 
orders  from  Washington  General  McClellan  was  relieved 
of  the  command  of  the  army,  and  General  Burnside  was 
directed  to  succeed  him.  The  news  of  this  change  took 
the  troops  by  surprise,  and  was  almost  as  great  a  shock 
to  the  men  as  if  the  general  commanding  had  been  assas 
sinated.  General  McClellan  seemed  as  much  a  constituent 
part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  as  General  Lee  formed 
of  his  army,  and  the  affection  for  him,  both  among  the 
officers  and  the  rank  and  file,  was  grievously  wounded. 
Of  General  Burnside  we  new  troops  knew  little;  all  we 
did  know  was  to  his  advantage  as  a  man  and  an  officer, 
and  we  were  proud  of  him  as  our  corps  commander,  hith 
erto  always  successful ;  but  soldiers  in  our  army  saw  their 
general  seldom  and  never  intimately.  There  was  a  feeling 
in  the  Ninth  Corps  that  we,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  were 
partakers  in  the  guilt  of  this  unpopular  change,  since  our 
favorite  general  had  taken  precedence  by  it,  and  that  it 
would  create  a  coldness  between  the  men  of  the  other 
corps  of  the  army  and  our  own,  which  had  not  been  a 
sharer  in  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
but  until  this  event  was  being  rapidly  assimilated  with  it. 

The  change  was  important  to  us  personally,  because  if 
General  Burnside  had  remained  a  corps  commander  only 
we,  probably,  should  always  have  remained  in  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

On  the  eighth  the  vanguard  of  the  army  seemed  to 
have  outmarched  the  supply  trains  ;  rations  were  insuffi 
cient,  and  cattle  were  killed,  and  beef,  broiled  upon  the 
coals  and  eaten  without  bread,  was  the  only  food  obtain 
able  to  stay  the  sharp  hunger  of  the  men.  The  mountains 
bend  away  to  the  west  near  Chester  Gap,  so  that  our 
southerly  course  lay  further  away  from  them.  Passing 


65  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Waterloo  we  crossed  the  Upper  Rappahannock  at  Mill- 
ville,  where  the  bridge  was  broken,  and  the  Fifty-First 
Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  kept  on, 
west,  to  the  further  end  of  the  village  of  Amissville,  con 
spicuous  for  several  painted  houses  with  green  blinds  and 
trailing  roses  still  in  bloom,  while  the  rest  of  the  brigade 
turned  more  southerly  to  Jefferson.  At  this  time  two 
divisions  of  Stonewall  Jackson's  Corps  were  yet  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  while  Lee  and  Longstreet  were  about 
Culpeper.  General  McClellan,  writing  of  his  intentions 
in  this  campaign,  says  :  — 

"I  did  expect  that  by  striking  in  between  Culpeper 
Court  House  and  Little  Washington  I  could  either  sep 
arate  their  army  and  beat  them  in  detail,  or  else  force 
them  to  concentrate  as  far  back  as  Gordonsville,  and  thus 
place  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  position  either  to  adopt 
the  Fredericksburg  line  of  advance  upon  Richmond  or  be 
removed  to  the  Peninsula,  etc." 

The  cavalry,  with  our  division  in  support,  was  apparently 
in  execution  of  this  scheme,  and  we  were  now  practically 
between  the  widely  separated  wings  of  the  Confederate 
army  and  far  in  advance  of  our  base.  All  was  quiet  about 
us,  however,  on  Sunday  the  ninth,  although  the  inhabitants 
seemed  to  view  us  askance,  as  if  anticipating  our  early 
departure,  if  not  capture.  Service  was  held  in  the  little 
wayside  church,  without  steeple,  near  our  camp  ground,  by 
our  chaplain,  assisted  by  others.  A  private  of  the  Fifty- 
First  died  suddenly  here ;  he  was  said  to  have  been  poi 
soned,  a  common  report  in  the  early  days  of  the  war.  At 
dress-parade  the  official  order  changing  the  commander  of 
the  army  was  read.  About  dark  that  evening  our  First 
Brigade  relieved  the  two  regiments  at  Amissville,  and  we 
made  a  quick  march  over  a  rough  road  to  Jefferson  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  66 

took  position  with  our  brigade  on  some  rising  ground 
overlooking  the  country  to  the  westward. 

In  the  morning  heavy  firing  was  heard  in  our  front,  and 
orders  were  received  to  pack  up  and  be  ready  to  move 
at  a  moment's  notice.  The  Twenty-First  Massachusetts, 
Fifty-First  New  York  and  Eleventh  New  Hampshire 
marched  off  in  the  direction  of  the  noise,  the  Fifty-First 
Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  remaining 
in  camp  waiting  further  orders.  A  little  before  noon  the 
three  regiments  came  back,  reporting  that  the  enemy  had 
"skedaddled."  Distant  firing  continued  during  the  day. 
The  affair  was  probably  a  reconnoissance  of  the  Con 
federates  to  ascertain  our  position  and  strength.  They 
were  working  down  opposite  us  through  the  highlands. 
We  could  see  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  from  camp,  their 
tops  covered  with  snow.  Rations  continued  scanty,  and 
the  men  tried  to  quiet  the  pangs  of  hunger  with  unripe 
persimmons,  a  puckery  diet,  not  suited  to  make  "living 
off  the  country"  a  favorite  system  with  us.  The  place 
was  memorable  for  the  immense  flock  of  crows  which 
darkened  the  air  in  their  flight  out  and  returning  to  their 
roosts. 

After  the  Confederates  retired,  our  brigade  staff  seemed 
well  assured  of  the  security  of  our  position ;  not  so,  some 
of  the  regimental  commanders,  who  of  their  own  accord 
kept  pickets  out  along  their  fronts.  At  1 1  P.  M.  of  the 
eleventh  there  was  a  stir  in  rear  of  our  brigade,  caused 
by  the  arrival  of  a  reconnoitring  party,  sent  from  our 
rear  to  find  out  who  we  were.  We  having  crossed  above 
and  come  down  the  west  side  of  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Rappahannock,  our  presence  in  their  front  was  unknown 
to  the  division  of  our  army  posted  on  the  river,  and  the 
sound  of  our  firing  was  quite  unaccountable  to  them. 
Word  was  sent  to  General  Burnsicle,  and  orders  came  for 


67  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

us  to  return  to  the  north  bank  of  the  river.  We  were 
roused  quietly  at  kalf-past  one  in  the  morning  of  the 
twelfth,  and  at  4  A.  M.  stole  off  in  the  darkness  upon  the 
road  to  the  rear,  recrossing  the  Rappahannock  at  Fauquier 
White  Sulphur  Springs  by  climbing  over  trees  felled  into 
the  river,  the  bridge  having  been  destroyed  during  General 
Pope's  campaign  of  the  previous  summer.  We  had  had  a 
narrow  escape  from  a  serious  and  unprepared-for  attack, 
if  not  surprise,  by  General  Stuart,  whose  adjutant-general 
informed  our  lieutenant-colonel  —  his  unwilling  guest  a  few 
nights  afterwards  —  that  Stuart's  troops  had  prepared  to 
give  us  a  lively  time  at  daylight  with  their  whole  force,  and 
would  very  likely  have  captured  most  of  our  brigade. 

At  the  Springs  we  were  entirely  out  of  rations  for  a  day, 
but  there  was  corn  for  the  animals,  and  we  watched  them 
crunching  it,  and  tried  cracking  the  grains  with  our  teeth ; 
we  had  not  yet  learned  how  to  satisfactorily  appease  our 
appetite  if  we  could  lay  hands  upon  an  ear  of  corn.  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Carruth  and  Adjutant  Wales,  enticed  by 
hunger,  next  day  recrossed  the  river  to  Miller's  house  — 
not  the  white  mansion-house  visible  from  camp,  but  beyond 
it  —  about  half  a  mile  distant,  where  three  men  of  the 
Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  were  posted ;  our  outer  pickets 
and  cavalry  being  nearly  half  a  mile  further  out.  While 
they  were  eating,  a  Confederate  major,  with  a  squad  of 
cavalry,  coming  in  through  a  gap  in  our  line  of  posts, 
surrounded  the  house,  captured  our  officers  and  the  three 
PennsylvanianSj  and  marched  them  off  to  Richmond,  not 
to  return  until  the  following  spring.  As  they  passed  out 
they  saw  our  pickets,  and  the  major  said  to  our  officers, 
"  If  they  fire  on  us  we  may  be  your  prisoners  "  ;  but  our 
men  did  not  fire.  Our  officers  were  exonerated  from 
blame  in  the  matter  by  a  letter  from  General  Sturgis. 

The  disturbance  caused  upon  the  opposite  bank  by  this 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  68 

capture  was  noticed  from  our  camp,  but  its  cause  was  not 
immediately  comprehended.  As  soon  as  the  alarm  was 
given  our  battery  opened  upon  the  houses,  and  the  regi 
ments  were  ordered  to  fall  in.  The  Thirty-Fifth,  under 
Major  Willard,  crossed  to  the  west  bank  and  skirmished 
up  to  the  houses  where  our  officers  had  been  waylaid  ; 
lines  were  formed  and  parties  sent  out,  but  nothing  was 
discovered  of  the  missing  ones  or  their  captors.  The 
regiment  remained  on  the  spot  all  night.  No  fires  were 
permitted,  and  as,  in  the  hurry,  many  had  brought  no 
overcoats,  there  was  much  suffering  from  cold  until  a 
detail  of  men  was  sent  to  camp  for  them.  The  boys 
remember  this  as  one  of  the  nights  when  Jack  Frost  had 
unobstructed  sway.  There  was  no  alarm  during  the  night, 
and  in  the  morning  the  regiment  returned  to  camp,  feeling 
rather  lonesome  without  their  trusted  Carruth  and  frolic 
some  Wales. 

The  retirement  of  the  brigade  from  Jefferson  may  have 
given  the  Confederates  a  hint  that  with  a  change  of  com 
manders  a  change  of  plan  of  campaign  might  occur.  In 
fact,  on  the  fourteenth,  while  we  were  returning  from  our 
reconnoissance,  General  Halleck  was  telegraphing  to  Gen 
eral  Burnside  the  President's  consent  to  the  plan  of  advance 
upon  Richmond  by  way  of  Fredericksburg,  adding  the 
words,  "  He  thinks  it  will  succeed  if  you  move  rapidly, 
otherwise  not." 

Early  in  the  morning  of  November  15  we  received  orders 
to  march,  and  broke  camp ;  but,  it  being  the  turn  of  the 
Thirty-Fifth  to  march  in  rear,  we  waited  until  the  whole 
Second  Division  had  passed  before  moving.  There  were 
two  roads  down  the  river  towards  Fayetteville,  one  of 
which  led  back  from  the  Rappahannock,  the  other  passed 
the  Springs  and  ruined  hotels  and,  as  it  approached  the 
river,  turned  to  the  left,  in  full  view  from  the  opposite 


6g  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

bank.  No  secrecy  was  attempted  in  the  movement,  as 
one  would  naturally  expect.  The  whole  division  took  the 
road  nearest  to  the  river,  followed  by  the  ambulances  and 
train  of  wagons.  The  high  canvas  covers  of  the  wagons 
shone  out  conspicuously  as  they  traversed  the  hills  border 
ing  the  lowlands  of  the  river-bed.  As  we  came  near  the 
river  we  saw  our  cavalry  pickets  rushing  down  the  hill  on 
the  opposite  side,  and  suspected  danger.  The  Confederate 
force  on  the  west  bank,  said  to  be  part  of  Stuart's  cavalry, 
was  tempted  by  the  display  of  our  flank  march  to  further 
the  President's  recommendation  with  a  shower  of  shells 
from  a  battery  planted  near  Hoffman's  house.  A  more 
rapid  movement  of  trains  was  never  seen,  in  fact  it 
was  quite  a  stampede,  as  the  bursting  missiles  came 
whizzing  about  the  ears  of  the  teamsters,  who  never 
were  fond  of  the  picket  line.  We  also  would  have 
been  content  to  follow  the  brigade  at  a  lively  pace 
in  pursuance  of  the  President's  advice.  But  two  of 
the  wagons  got  overturned  at  the  brook  or  mud  hole 
east  of  the  Springs  and  were  destroyed;  the  rear  of 
the  train  had  to  be'  turned  back  upon  the  other 
road,  and  our  general  began  to  think  that  Stuart  was 
having  all  the  fun  to  himself.  So  he  posted  Durell's 
battery  and  two  guns  of  Roemer's  along  the  ridge,  with 
orders  to  silence  their  opponents  across  the  river,  and 
ordered  the  Thirty-Fifth  back  towards  the  Springs  to 
support  the  guns.  Then  ensued  a  brilliant  display  of 
artillery  practice,  the  positions  on  both  sides  being  excel 
lent,  and  the  cannoneers  working  their  pieces  with  a  fury 
that  darkened  the  sky  with  smoke  and  made  the  air  quiver 
with  the  explosions. 

There  was  a  little  hut  upon  the  hill  exposed  to  the 
enemy's  fire,  and  during  the  shelling  the  door  was  flung 
open  and  a  man  rushed  out  carrying  a  child,  followed  by 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  70 

a  woman  bearing  another.  The  fright  had  so  overcome 
the  poor  woman  that  she  fell  headlong  in  the  road  before 
her  door  —  it  was  a  pitiful  sight.  She  was  raised  imme 
diately  and  escaped  to  the  woods  unhurt.  At  the  same 
time  the  ambulances  were  passing,  in  one  of  which,  upon 
the  front  seat,  was  Miss  Gilson,  of  Chelsea,  riding  calmly 
along  amid  the  bursting  shells  —  not  the  only  time  the 
regiment  saw  this  lady  present  under  fire. 

After  the  wagons  had  passed  the  regiment  was  posted 
under  the  ridge  occupied  by  the  artillery,  and  ordered  to 
lie  down.  Lieutenant  Mcllvaine,  of  DurelPs  Battery,  was 
mortally  wounded,  and  carried  by  us,  and  one  of  the 
gunners  had  his  arm  torn  off.  Only  one  of  our  regiment 
was  struck  by  a  shell  and  he  was  not  badly  hurt,  which 
was  wonderful,  so  many  shells  struck  around,  about  and, 
apparently,  even  among  the  men.  It  was  said  that  the 
enemy  also  fired  pieces  of  railroad  iron,  but  they  may 
have  been  oblong  or  percussion  shells  which  had  acquired 
an  end-over-end  motion  after  first  striking  the  ground. 

Some  mounted  men  appeared  towards  the  ford  of  the 
river,  as  if  attempting  to  cross  ;  a  company  of  the  Seventh 
Rhode  Island  was  on  picket  there.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was 
now  ordered  back  to  the  Springs,  and  lay  down  at  the 
opening  of  the  road.  Lieutenants  Stickney  and  Hudson 
were  sent  forward  to  dispute  the  crossing.  Chaplain 
Miller  showed  himself  quite  cool  in  danger  while  observ 
ing  the  enemy  from  this  position,  so  the  day  was  notable 
also  as  the  only  occasion  when  we  saw  a  chaplain  in  action. 
General  Burns's  Division  came  up  on  our  right,  and  Lieu 
tenant  Benjamin  planted  his  twenty-pounders  upon  the 
hill  near  the  Springs.  When  he  opened,  the  enemy  felt  a 
sudden  call  in  the  direction  of  Culpeper,  the  cross  fire  was 
too  much  for  them,  they  decamped  and  we  saw  no  more 
of  Stuart  or  his  battery.  During  this  skirmish  Major 


71  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Willard  commanded,  Captain  Andrews  acted  as  lieutenant- 
colonel,  Lieutenant  Blanchard  commanding  Company  A, 
and  Captain  Lathrop  acted  as  major.* 

We  started  after  the  brigade,  but  had  not  gone  far  when 
the  regiment  was  halted,  then  sent  to  the  right  into  the 
woods,  on  picket  at  Lawson's  Ford.  There  we  spent  an 
uncomfortable  night,  without  fires,  on  account  of  the  near 
ness  of  the  enemy.  To  the  soldier  lack  of  fire  means  lack 
of  his  pot  of  coffee  by  the  cheerful  blaze  after  a  hard  day's 
work,  and  is  not  willingly  endured  whatever  the  danger. 
There  was  at  least  one  flame  alight  down  by  the  brook 
that  night,  over  which  some  chops  of  a  young  pig  were 
sizzling  with  dry  corn  parching  in  the  fat.  During  the 
night  Quartermaster  Haines,  with  Upton  and  Cutter,  came 
up  to  the  regiment,  bringing  needed  rations  from  the  com 
missary  wagons. 

On  the  following  day  (Sunday,  the  sixteenth)  we  resumed 
the  march,  joined  the  brigade  at  Fayetteville  and  kept  on 
to  camp  near  Warrenton  Junction,  on  the  railroad,  passing 
through  masses  of  the  infantry  of  the  other  divisions  of 
the  army  of  which  we  had  seen  but  little  for  some  time. 
This  was  one  of  the  hardest  marches  of  the  campaign, 
and,  by  a  singular  coincidence,  it  happened  upon  the  very 
day  upon  which  President  Lincoln  issued  his  famous  order 
in  regard  to  the  observance  of  Sunday  in  the  army.  At 
the  Junction  the  morning  of  the  seventeenth  opened  with 
rain,  which,  with  intervals  of  drizzle,  continued  for  several 
days.  Rations  had  been  so  scanty  that  an  order  of  Major 
Willard  for  one  hard  bread  apiece,  extra,  was  received  with 
cheers.  We  started  again  in  the  afternoon  towards  Fred- 
ericksburg,  and  pushed  along  rapidly  through  the  fields 
beside  the  road,  which  was  left  for  the  passage  of  the 
artillery  and  wagons,  and,  in  the  same  way,  through  the 

*  An  account  of  this  skirmish  is  printed  in  6  Rebellion  Record,  195. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  72 

mud  and  drizzle  on  the  eighteenth,  leaving  camp  about 
7  A.  M.  and  marching  until  noon.  Many  troops  were  in 
motion.  General  Burnside  passed,  on  the  way  to  Falmouth. 
On  the  nineteenth,  in  a  down-pour  of  rain,  the  brigade 
reached  Falmouth,  and  marched  through  its  one  street 
with  the  band  playing  "Yankee  Doodle,"  and  so  came  out 
upon  the  open  plateau  near  the  Rappahannock,  opposite 
the  upper  part  of  the  city  of  Fredericksburg.  General 
Sumner  with  the  Second  Corps  had  preceded  us,  and  we 
were  probably  the  last  of  his  Grand  Division  to  arrive. 
The  plain  was  blue  with  lines  of  troops  between  us  and 
the  river ;  the  waters  of  which  ran  turbid  with  the  recent 
rains,  and  foaming  among  the  rocks,  where  had  been  an 
easy  ford  in  the  drier  seasons. 

At  that  time  there  was  but  a  small  Confederate  force  in 
Fredericksburg ;  the  movement,  so  far  as  concerned  their 
unpreparedness  here,  seeming  to  have  been  successful, 
notwithstanding  the  hint  of  motion  this  way  which  we  had 
given  them  at  the  Sulphur  Springs.  As  we  approached 
Falmouth  the  report  was  circulated  that  the  army  would 
cross  the  river  at  once,  keep  on  direct  to  Richmond,  and 
be  there  at  Christmas.  Something  of  the  sort  was  our 
general's  intention,  but,  on  arrival  at  the  point  of  passage, 
the  pontoons  were  not  in  readiness,  and  no  means  were  at 
hand  for  crossing  the  trains.  We  waited  near  the  railroad 
some  time,  the  boys  occupying  the  moments  so  decisive  of 
the  campaign  in  plucking  up  wild  garlic,  which  grew  abun 
dantly  there  and  was  a  novelty  to  us.  The  brigade  then 
marched  to  the  plateau  above  the  railroad,  and  went  into 
camp  in  the  wide  fields  south  of  the  Phillips  House,  a 
handsome  mansion  in  the  modern  style  and  a  prominent 
landmark,  afterwards  the  headquarters  of  General  Sumner 
and  chief  signal  station  of  the  army,  where  the  powerful  tel 
escopes  and  observation  balloons  were  objects  of  interest. 


73  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Everything  was  wet ;  it  continued  to  rain  all  day  the 
twentieth  and  twenty-first,  and,  in  pitching  camp  in  com 
pany  streets,  some  dried  a  spot  to  lie  upon  by  first  building 
fires  upon  the  ground  for  the  tent.  Fences  disappeared  at 
once,  and  our  fuel  henceforth  was  the  green  pitch  pine, 
with  some  beech  wood  near  the  river  where  the  pickets 
were.  We  lay  until  the  twenty-fourth  in  this  uncomfortable, 
ill-drained  location,  the  weather  at  last  turning  cold  and 
freezing  the  rough  ground.  The  only  memorable  event 
there  was  that,  after  the  usual  inspection  and  service  on 
Sunday  the  twenty-third,  the  regiment  formed  by  divisions- 
in-mass  on  centre  division,  and,  after  the  chaplain  had 
read  the  Thanksgiving  proclamation  of  Governor  Andrew, 
Major  Willard  required  the  whole  regiment  to  repeat  in 
unison  the  final  words,  "  God  save  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts ! "  We  did  so,  but  felt  all  the  time  that  the 
Old  Commonwealth  was  safe  enough  at  home,  and  what 
most  needed  saving,  or  a  little  Thanksgiving  comfort,  was 
the  Thirty-Fifth  Regiment. 

The  day  after  this  ceremony  (the  twenty-fourth)  the 
brigade  moved  to  a  drier  position,  north-east  of  the 
Phillips  House,  and  formed  camp  in  a  hollow  square,  the 
Fifty-First  New  York  and  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  being 
on  the  west  side,  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  on  the 
south,  we  on  the  east  and  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire 
on  the  north.  The  space  in  the  centre  was  used  for  drills 
and  dress-parade.  The  Eleventh  had  a  brass  band  which 
played  for  evening  parades,  each  regiment  facing  inward 
in  front  of  its  camp  and  all  going  through  the  form 
together.  In  the  absence  of  Adjutant  Wales,  Lieutenants 
Blanchard  and  Stickney,  successively,  performed  the  duties 
of  that  office.  The  brigade  was  reviewed  by  General 
Sumner  on  the  twenty-sixth.  About  the  same  date  First 
Sergeant  Oscar  R.  Livingstone  was  promoted  to  the  rank 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  74 

of  second  lieutenant,  Sergeant-Major  Hatch  was  promoted 
to  second  lieutenant,  and  Sergeant  S.  G.  Berry  succeeded 
him  as  sergeant-major  of  the  regiment. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  (Thanksgiving  Day)  a  brigade 
service  was  held  at  10  A.  M.  The  chaplain  of  the  Eleventh 
New  Hampshire  read  the  proclamation  of  that  State  and 
made  appropriate  remarks,  the  band  played  a  few  pieces, 
and  three  hymns  were  sung.  The  services  were  quite 
interesting. 

From  the  Phillips  House  a  wide  view  could  be  had  of 
the  city  of  Fredericksburg  opposite.  The  streets  of  the 
city  were  regularly  laid  out,  running  parallel  with  the 
river  and  at  right  angles  to  it,  making  blocks,  most  of  the 
buildings  being  of  wood,  except  upon  the  principal  streets 
where  brick  was  generally  used.  Rumors  came  to  us  of 
a  cavalry  charge  through  the  town,  and  a  good  deal  was 
said  about  flags  of  truce  and  agreements  not  to  fire  upon 
the  city  and  its  evacuation  by  the  inhabitants.  Behind 
the  buildings  of  the  city,  upon  the  hills,  earthworks  and 
batteries  began  to  appear,  and  General  Lee  and  his  army 
were  plainly  preparing  to  receive  us,  when,  if  ever,  our 
time  to  cross  here  should  come. 

Details  were  made  for  picket  along  the  river  bank  — 
the  tour  of  duty  being  twenty-four  hours  —  and  no  firing 
allowed  at  the  men  in  gray  opposite.  On  the  thirtieth  the 
regiment  had  one  hundred  and  sixty  men  on  this  duty. 
Fatigue  parties  were  also  sent  to  the  rear,  road  making, 
where  they  learned  how  to  lay  corduroy,  with  a  foundation 
of  logs  and  cross  pieces  of  smaller  timber,  the  only  means 
of  keeping  the  wagons  above  ground  in  that  bottomless 
country.  These  workers  reported  about  the  first  of 
December  that  they  had  seen  the  pontoon  boats  a  little 
way  to  the  rear  of  our  camp,  in  the  hollow ;  accordingly 
we  began  to  look  for  a  move,  which  we  did  not  relish  just 


75  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

then  for  we  were  anticipating  a  first  visit  from  the  pay 
master —  money  having  been  among  the  things  lost  to 
sight  but  to  memory  dear  for  some  time  past. 

A  ration  of  potatoes  was  issued  —  an  article  we  had 
nearly  forgotten  the  use  of  —  and  company  streets  were 
ordered  swept  in  the  morning  of  December  4 ;  and,  as  a 
matter  of  course  after  such  preparation  to  stay,  orders 
came,  while  we  were  on  battalion  drill  in  the  afternoon, 
to  move  at  half-past  four,  and  we  packed  up  in  a  bad 
humor.  The  march  was  but  a  short  distance,  only  about 
three  miles  south,  down  the  river  to  the  rear  of  a  battery, 
which  we  were  sent  to  guard  and  had  some  difficulty  in 
rinding.  It  was  Battery  B,  Second  Battalion,  New  York 
Artillery ;  the  guns,  four  Parrott  twenty-pounders.  Camp 
was  located  and  tents  pitched  in  a  storm  of  rain,  with  hail 
and  snow. 

Thenceforward  for  a  week,  sentries  were  kept  constantly 
on  duty  pacing  the  parapet  of  the  little  earthwork  of  the 
battery,  overlooking  the  level  ground  below,  the  river 
flowing  in  its  deep  bed,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  city  and 
the  plain  over  which  General  Franklin's  left  wing  of  the 
army  afterwards  made  its  advance.  The  officer  of  the 
battery  said  he  had  been  in  that  position  since  November 
20,  entirely  without  support.  Next  day  Captain  Lathrop, 
sent  'out  by  the  major  to  see  if  there  were  any  troops  near 
us,  met  pickets  some  ways  back  from  our  camp,  who  said 
that  they  were  the  outer  pickets,  and  they  knew  nothing 
of  our  regiment  and  the  battery  being  outside  of  them. 

On  the  sixth  three  inches  of  snow  fell ;  it  was  freezing 
in  true  New  England  style,  and  the  weather  was  as  genuine 
an  importation  from  Massachusetts  as  the  regiment  itself. 
The  men  not  on  guard  duty  employed  themselves  in  cutting 
wood,  a  constant  labor  in  a  winter  camp,  arid  some  engaged 
in  logging  up  their  tents,  orders  or  permission  to  do  so 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  76 

having  been  given  about  the  eighth  of  December.  The 
slang  word  in  that  camp  was  "  promptly,"  everything  had 
to  be  done  promptly,  from  turning  out  at  dress-parade  to 
dealing  out  the  messes  of  baked  beans.  In  the  "  Memoir 
of  Major  Willard  "  there  are  given  at  length  interesting 
letters  from  him,  describing  the  night  duty  at  the  battery, 
the  watch  fires  of  the  enemy,  the  logging  up,  and  the  worn 
out  shoes  and  almost  bare  feet  of  some  of  the  men  from 
their  rough  tramp  along  the  Blue  Ridge.  Members  of  the 
regiment  received  new  boots  by  mail,  which  was  then  con 
sidered  a  novel  use  for  the  postal  service.  The  sutler 
came  on  the  ninth,  a  certain  forerunner  of  the  paymaster, 
who  arrived  next  day,  paying  off  the  companies  at  different 
hours  from  the  tenth  to  the  twelfth. 

Meanwhile  General  Burnside  had  been  endeavoring  to 
devise  a  way  to  get  at  the  Confederates  on  something  like 
an  equal  footing,  if  possible.  He  concluded  to  try  to 
seize  the  heights  behind  the  city  by  surprise,  success  to 
depend  upon  the  "  promptness  "  of  execution.  Where  we 
were,  the  river  was  bordered  by  plains  or  table-lands  rising 
like  terraces,  one  above  another.  The  highest  plateau 
approached  the  river  nearest  on  the  east  bank,  giving  our 
artillery  full  command  of  the  city  and  the  plain  below  it. 
Down  stream  the  hills  were  further  back,  and  General  Lee 
anticipated  our  crossing  at  Port  Royal  rather  than  in  the 
face  of  his  batteries  at  the  city,  and  sent  Stonewall  Jackson 
down  there.  Our  general  made  feints  in  that  direction, 
hoping  to  make  General  Lee  carelessly  secure  at  the  city, 
to  the  extent  of  diminishing  his  force  there  and  rendering 
the  opposition  to  be  met  back  of  the  city  easy  to  be  over 
come. 

On  the  ninth  and  tenth  the  woods  behind  our  camp 
became  filled  with  infantry  and  artillery  of  Franklin's 
Grand  Division  —  the  First  and  Sixth  Corps  —  among 


77  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

whom  we  again  recognized  the  Twelfth  and  Thirteenth 
Massachusetts  Regiments.  The  whole  army  was  massing 
at  the  river,  the  infantry  under  cover  of  the  trees ;  but,  as 
soon  as  it  was  dark  on  the  tenth,  three  batteries  took 
positions  along  the  heights  where  our  battery  was.  The 
night  was  very  cold  and  the  ground  frozen ;  the  rumbling 
of  the  gun  carriages  and  cries  of  the  drivers  to  their 
horses  made  a  great  noise,  and  must  have  been  heard  by 
the  enemy. 

The  paymaster  was  busy  at  Major  Willard's  headquarters 
until  midnight  of  the  tenth  distributing  the  crisp  green 
backs,  some  of  the  boys  said  to  put  us  in  good  humor  for 
the  fight,  as  if  a  soldier  could  possibly  be  in  a  mind  for  a 
death  struggle  with  his  pockets  full  of  cash.  It  was  whis 
pered  that  the  pontoons  had  been  run  down  to  the  bank 
in  the  darkness,  and  the  crossing  would  be  attempted  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

The  opinion  prevalent  in  an  army,  its  morale,  powerfully 
influences  the  success  of  its  campaigns,  and  commanders 
of  armies  composed  of  "thinking  bayonets"  are  specially 
solicitous  to  bring  this  opinion  to  concert  with  their  plans ; 
failing  in  this  they  hesitate  before  perilous  action.  The 
past  year's  experience  in  the  conduct  of  war  in  Virginia 
had  convinced  many  of  the  thinking  men  in  the  service 
that  it  was  expecting  too  much  of  the  army  to  suppose  it 
would  be  able  by  direct  assault  to  force  back  General  Lee 
from  his  position  upon  the  Rappahannock,  and  the  suc 
cessive  lines  of  the  Mattapony,  North  and  South  Annas, 
Pamunkey  and  Chickahominy,  to  Richmond,  amid  the 
storms,  snows  and  mud  of  winter,  with  rivers  and  swamps 
swollen  by  rains ;  the  season  seemed  to  forbid  undertaking 
such  a  campaign,  if  ever  advisable.  General  Burnside  was 
more  sanguine  of  success,  for  he,  with  subordinate  armies 
at  Roanoke  Island,  Newberne,  South  Mountain  and  An- 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  78 

tietam  Bridge,  had  given  the  Confederates  the  odds  of 
position  and  had  uniformly  won.  He  naturally  reasoned 
that  what  had  been  done  on  a  small  scale  could  be  done 
on  a  larger,  if  equal  energy  were  displayed ;  moreover,  he 
hoped  to  effect  a  surprise.  The  general,  therefore,  with 
an  army  more  or  less  disaffected  towards  his  purpose,  was 
about  to  attempt  the  first  step  in  this  herculean  labor. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FREDERICKSBURG,  AND  WINTER  NEAR  FALMOUTH,  1862-63. 

THE  opening  of  the  contest  at  Fredericksburg  was  as 
impressive  as  it  was  unfortunate.  All  the  companies 
except  K  had  been  paid  before  midnight,  and  the  men  had 
been  asleep  in  their  little  shelters  a  few  hours  when  there 
arose  from  the  darkness  and  fog  of  the  river  the  heavy 
boom  of  signal  guns,  continued  with  occasional  shots, 
volleys  and  shouts  of  combatants.  At  last  a  crossing  was 
being  attempted,  and  the  engineers  were  trying  to  lay  the 
pontoon  bridges.  Many  a  man's  heart  beat  faster  at  the 
dread  sound.  More  than  one  soldier  bent  his  knee  upon 
the  pine  boughs  of  his  rough  bed  and  prayed  for  strength 
to  do  his  duty  manfully,  and  that  God  would  give  the  vic 
tory  to  the  cause  which  seemed  so  righteous.  And  yet  — 
could  it  be  right  to  attack,  with  fire  and  shells,  a  city  filled 
with  homes  only  partly  abandoned?  —  how  could  a  victory 
follow,  when  the  best  of  our  men  were  shocked  by  a  devas 
tation  so  opposed  to  their  principles ;  when  the  meanest 
spirit  among  our  opponents  could  not  but  be  made  a  hero 
by  the  sight  of  his  own  city  laid  waste  ?  —  thus,  morally 
also,  we  were  placed  in  a  wrong  position  at  the  very 
beginning. 

The  regiment  was  awakened  at  three  in  the  morning.  At 
dawn,  orders  were  received  for  us  to  join  the  brigade  at 
the  Phillips  House.  By  count,  we  had  seventeen  officers 
and  three  hundred  and  fifty-three  men  in  line.  They  were 


So  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

to  take  blankets  and  shelter  tents  only,  in  a  roll  across  the 
shoulders,  and  two  days'  rations.  The  ground  was  frozen 
and  slippery  in  damp  places,  the  morning  bright  overhead, 
foggy  in  the  river-bed.  The  lower  bridges  for  Franklin's 
crossing  had  been  successfully  laid,  but  the  upper  ones, 
opposite  the  city,  were  not — the  fire  of  the  enemy's  sharp 
shooters  had  been  too  hot  for  the  engineers  to  work  under. 
We  learned  of  this  delay  on  our  arrival  at  the  brigade, 
which  had  intended  to  cross  upon  the  upper  bridge ; 
pending  its  completion,  therefore,  we  had  nothing  to  do 
but  wait,  sitting  upon  boards  or  tufts  of  grass  near  the 
Phillips  House.  Many  of  the  members  improved  the 
opportunity  to  drop  a  few  lines  home,  and  send  off  the 
surplus  of  greenbacks,  just  received,  by  our  ever-to-be- 
remembered  friend,  Mayor  Fay,  of  Chelsea. 

Our  artillery  —  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  guns  of 
various  calibre  —  opened  all  along  our  lines  upon  the 
unfortunate  city,  for  the  purpose,  as  was  said,  of  driving 
out  the  Mississippi  sharpshooters  hidden  in  the  houses 
opposite  the  bridges ;  and,  if  noise  could  compel  them, 
they  would  have  left  in  a  hurry,  for  of  all  the  thunder  of 
artillery  heard  by  the  regiment  during  the  war  this  seemed 
the  loudest.  It  was  a  constant,  booming  roar,  rising  and 
falling  in  a  peculiar  way,  occasioned,  some  said,  by  the 
echoes  from  the  city,  or  along  the  river  headlands;  gun 
boats  were  mentioned  at  the  time,  but  there  were  no 
vessels  so  near  to  the  city.  Only  houses  were  injured ; 
the  sharpshooters,  though  silenced  for  awhile,  remained 
until  volunteers  from  the  Seventh  Michigan,  Nineteenth 
and  Twentieth  Massachusetts  and  Eighty-Ninth  New  York 
crossed  in  boats  and  gallantly  drove  them  out  of  the  city. 
All  this  was  invisible  to  us,  on  account  of  the  lowness  of 
the  river-bed ;  only  the  rattle  of  the  musketry  and  sounds 
of  the  contest  were  audible  to  us. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  8 1 

It  was  early  dark  in  the  afternoon  when  the  bridges 
were  completed,  too  late  for  any  important  further  action. 
The  regiment  was  ordered  back  to  the  battery,  and  plodded 
along  through  the  now  soft  mud,  to  find  their  quarters  laid 
waste  and  the  camp  ground  cut  up  by  passing  artillery  and 
wagons.  Hardly  were  arms  stacked  when  the  order  came 
for  the  regiment  to  return  to  the  Phillips  House,  with  a 
view  to  crossing  the  river  that  night.  In  an  ill  humor  the 
men  fell  in  and  retraced  the  heavy  track  across  the  sea  of 
mud.  The  glow  of  burning  buildings  in  the  opposite  city 
could  be  seen  through  the  fog.  It  was  quite  dark;  changes 
of  positions  of  troops  had  been  made  ;  the  head  of  the 
column  got  bewildered  and  wandered  around  over  the 
open  plain,  with  frequent  halts  to  discuss  localities,  in  a 
way  to  distract  tired  men  carrying  abundant  luggage.  At 
last  our  station  was  reached,  only  to  find  the  order  coun 
termanded,  with  direction  to  return  again  to  the  battery  — 
could  the  English  language  furnish  words  to  express  our 
emotions  !  It  was  a  wearisome  tramp  back  to  camp,  and, 
when  arrived  there,  it  was  difficult  to  find  a  dry  spot  large 
enough  to  spread  a  blanket.  One  man  noticed  the  long 
hole  in  the  ground,  which  had  been  dug  and  used  for  an 
oven  to  bake  some  company's  beans,  and,  raking  out  the 
ashes,  he  made  a  luxurious  bed,  remarking,  "There'd  be 
many  a  poor  fellow  over  there  to-morrow  night  would  be 
glad  of  such  a  nice,  comfortable  grave  to  bury  himself 
in!" 

Next  morning  (the  twelfth)  the  regiment,  under  Major 
Willard  —  Captain  Andrews  having  been  appointed  acting 
lieutenant-colonel  and  Captain  Lathrop  acting  major  — 
taking  the  road  by  the  river  side,  instead  of  upon  the  high 
land,  reached  the  upper  pontoons  and  crossed  to  join  the 
brigade,  which  was  found  massed  on  the  bank  above  the 
bridges,  sheltered  from  the  enemy's  artillery  by  the  river 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

bank  and  the  houses  of  the  city.  As  we  passed  over  we 
noted  the  holes  in  the  pontoon  boats  made  by  the  bullets 
of  the  enemy  the  day  before.  Arms  were  stacked, 
packs  unslung  and  piled,  and  the  men,  a  few  at  a  time, 
wandered  up  into  the  city  to  see  the  sights,  while  the 
remainder  devoted  themselves  to  gazing  between  the 
houses  at  the  enemy's  earthworks  beyond  the  plain  back 
of  the  town,  or  sat  upon  the  bank  watching  the  dropping 
of  the  shot  into  the  river,  aimed  by  guess  at  the  pontoons, 
and  passing  over  our  heads  to  plunge  their  cold  hearts  into 
the  frigid  waters  of  the  Rappahannock.  The  bottom  of 
that  river  must  be  iron-clad.  We  had  hardly  been  in 
Fredericksburg  an  hour  when  we  saw  Mayor  Fay  and 
Miss  Gilson  coming  on  foot  over  the  pontoon  bridge. 
As  regiments  came  down  the  east  bank  to  cross,  their 
flags  and  glistening  steel  would  attract  the  eyes  of  the 
Confederate  gunners,  and  well-aimed  shots  would  cause 
a  ducking  of  heads  and  swaying  from  side  to  side  in  the 
ranks,  quite  amusing  to  see  when  the  missile  did  not  take 
effect,  but  serious  when  it  did.  The  visitors  to  the  main 
streets  returned,  generally  bringing  some  useless  article 
which  the  inhabitants  had  not  removed,  and  which  had 
attracted  the  soldier's  fancy,  but  which  he  was  not  allowed 
to  retain  by  the  provost-guard.  Tobacco  was  discovered 
in  great  abundance,  in  various  shapes  of  pig,  plug  and 
twist.  Several  had  found  old-fashioned  calico  dresses 
and  bonnets  and  came  back  dressed  in  them,  cutting  a 
swell  appearance  and  exciting  much  mirth.  It  was  a 
sickening  mixture  of  death  and  frivolity. 

Lieutenant  Hudson  and  members  of  Company  D  from 
Wayland  happened  upon  the  body  of  Reverend  Arthur 
B.  Fuller,  former  Chaplain  of  the  Sixteenth  Massachusetts 
Regiment,  which  they  at  once  identified  and  cared  for. 
This  noble  spirit,  while  on  his  way  the  day  before  to  take 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  83 

passage  for  Washington,  had  been  caught  in  the  enthu 
siasm  at  the  moment  of  the  crossing  in  boats,  joined  as 
a  volunteer  in  the  assault,  rifle  in  hand,  and  was  killed 
in  the  streets  of  the  city.  His  body  had  lain  among  the 
unrecognized  dead  until  discovered  by  the  members  of  our 
regiment.  The  watches  and  valuable  parcels  entrusted  to 
him  for  conveyance  home  had  been  rifled  from  his  body 
by  the  plundering  followers  of  the  army. 

Darkness  and  fog  settled  down ;  another  night  of  un 
certainty  for  us  and  of  preparation  for  the  enemy  was 
coming  on,  and,  with  the  soldiers'  wise  thought  for  the 
comfort  of  the  present  moment,  the  men  gathered  boards 
and  old  doors  from  the  houses  and  fences,  and  laid  them 
in  lines  behind  the  stacks  of  arms,  for  dry  but  rather 
hard  beds,  and  slept.  No  fires  were  permitted  during 
the  darkness. 

The  morning  of  the  thirteenth  was  foggy,  as  usual.  In 
other  wars,  and  on  several  occasions  during  this,  fog  and 
darkness  were  taken  advantage  of,  to  enable  an  assaulting 
force  to  approach  the  enemy's  works.  In  this  case,  as  the 
individual  courage  of  the  men  was  to  be  relied  upon,  and 
not  leadership,  and  the  purpose  was  so  obvious  to  every 
one,  it  is  possible  that  the  Union  loss  would  have  be"en 
less,  and  chance  of  success  greater,  had  the  troops  been 
massed  under  cover  of  this  mysterious  obscurity,  near 
enough  for  a  charge  upon  the  works  at  a  run.  On  the 
left  of  the  army  a  brilliant  dash  was  made  during  the 
morning,  with  success  at  first ;  a  movement  very  like  the 
many  left-flank  moves  at  Petersburg,  with  similar  results : 
confusion  by  advancing  in  a  wooded  country,  an  exposed 
flank,  and  a  return  discomfited  to  the  starting  point. 
General  Meade  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  movement, 
and  the  chivalrous  Bayard  was  killed. 

During  the  morning  our  brigade  moved   up  into  the 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

principal  street,  and,  with  halts,  southerly  to  near  the 
railroad  track  and  station.  Here,  towards  noon,  there 
was  a  rest  for  an  hour  or  so  in  the  street  under  cover  of 
the  houses.  Rations  of  raw  salt  pork  were  distributed. 
The  artillery  of  the  enemy,  distant  about  half  a  mile,  had 
a  complete  rake  of  the  streets  running  at  right  angles  to 
the  river ;  and  we  watched  their  shots,  the  puffs  of  smoke 
from  the  guns,  the  bursting  of  the  shells  near  at  hand, 
and  the  showers  of  pieces  clattering  along  the  streets  and 
upon  the  sides  of  the  houses,  at  which  last  part  of  the 
performance  we  drew  back  our  heads  and  relied  upon  our 
ears.  From  our  position  we  could  see  no  movement  of 
their  infantry ;  but  there  was  no  appearance  of  our  general 
having  effected  his  purpose  of  catching  General  Lee  asleep. 
Occasionally  a  solid  shot  or  percussion  shell  would  come 
smashing  through  the  buildings  in  front,  scattering  the 
plaster  and  clouds  of  lime  dust.  Such  pounding  was  as 
harmless  to  us  as  our  bombardment  of  two  days  before 
had  been  to  them.  We  saw  a  brigade,  or  division,  in 
good  order  come  from  near  the  railway  station  and 
move  to  our  right  among  the  houses,  as  if  to  make  an 
assault,  which  we  could  not  see ;  they  had  green  in  their 
caps,  and  were  said  to  be  General  Meagher's  men.  The 
ground,  over  which  we  looked,  westward  to  the  enemy's 
lines  was  a  rolling  plain,  cut  just  at  our  left  by  the  railroad 
running  south-west,  then  south,  its  cutting  deepening  as  it 
neared  their  position.  Houses,  trees  and  fences  were 
scattered  over  the  plain.  The  sun  shone  brightly  upon 
the  scene. 

About  one  o'clock  the  major  called,  "Attention!  "  The 
men  fell  in  with  compressed  lips  —  the  time  had  come. 
We  marched  by  the  right  flank  across  the  railroad,  a 
grade  crossing,  moved  a  block  south  of  it,  then  turning 
sharp  to  the  west  towards  the  enemy  came  again  to  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  85 

railroad  beyond  the  station  house,  and  recrossed  to  the 
north  side.  We  passed  several  dead  men,  one  entirely 
disembowelled  and  horribly  mangled.  Here  we  faced  to 
the  front;  General  Ferrero  appeared  for  a  moment,  and 
gave  the  word  to  our  commander.  Major  Willard,  starting 
in  front  and  drawing  up  his  powerful  frame  to  its  full 
height,  waving  his  huge  cavalry  sabre,  gave  the  order  in 
his  sonorous  voice,  "  Forward — Thirty-Fifth!  On  centre 
—  dress!  Remember  Antietam  ! "  and  set  the  example 
himself  by  leading  on.  The  regiment  kept  a  good  line, 
and,  at  a  double-quick,  rapidly  neared  the  Confederates. 
Their  shells  struck  all  about;  some  would  burst  directly 
in  front ;  there  was  time  to  see  the  explosion,  and  expect 
the  fragments  before  they  came ;  the  dirt  thrown  up  made 
the  ground  seem  travelling  backward ;  a  man  had  time  to 
wonder  why  he  was  not  hit  by  the  whizzing  pieces.  The 
sharp  hiss  of  the  more  dangerous  rifle-ball  soon  became 
more  noticeable.  In  advancing,  the  left  of  the  regiment 
kept  along  the  railroad ;  and,  as  that  bent  to  the  south, 
the  course  was  upon  a  road  running  directly  to  the  south 
end  of  Marye's  Heights. 

Major  Willard,  thus  leading  and  encouraging  us,  doing 
all  that  a  heroic  man  could  to  further  our  general's  plan, 
was  struck  by  a  bullet  in  the  body,  and  fell  upon  the  field, 
mortally  wounded.  The  regiment,  with  the  impetus  he  had 
given  it,  passed  on,  getting  breathless  with  the  run  and 
their  burdens,  men  dropping  by  the  enemy's  fire  all  along. 
We  reached  a  wire  fence,  enclosing  the  yard  of  a  white 
washed  cottage.  This  fence  broke  the  formation  of  the 
line,  the  wires  catching  a  man  by  some  of  his  many  bags 
and  bundles,  and  persisting  in  holding  him  until  he  un- 
slung  the  impedimenta,  or  was  extricated  ;  the  right  of  the 
regiment  had  to  break  through  a  board  fence.  Getting 
through  these  obstructions,  and  passing  to  the  side  of  the 


86  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

house  towards  the  enemy,  we  found  a  little  ridge  —  a 
hardly  noticeable  swell  in  the  plain  —  on  the  hither  side 
of  which  the  men  stopped  and  lay  down  to  recover  breath 
and  reform.  Then,  advancing  to  the  crest,  we  found  it 
occupied  by  men  of  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  on  the 
left,  and  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  and  Eleventh 
New  Hampshire,  and  troops  of  the  Second  Corps,  on  the 
right.  They  were  firing  at  the  enemy,  and  called  to  us  to 
open  also,  which  we  did  at  once,  mingling  with  them  for 
the  purpose. 

The  Confederates  were  distant  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  The  ground  sank  down  into  a  considerable 
hollow  from  our  ridge,  then  rose  to  their  position,  which 
was  at  the  foot  of  and  upon  a  steep  bank,  where  the  upper 
plateau,  upon  which  Mr.  Marye's  house  stood,  meets  the 
lower.  In  our  front  was  the  south  portion  of  Marye's 
Heights,  so  called,  and  we  fired  directly  towards  the  spot 
now  occupied  by  the  National  Cemetery.  We  could  not 
distinguish  their  men  well,  the  color  of  their  clothes  and 
hats  being  so  like  the  soil  of  the  bank,  but  aimed  at  the 
line  of  puffs  of  white  smoke  from  their  rifles  or  the  battery 
behind  them.  Their  infantry  was  in  the  sunken  road  which 
ran  along  the  base  of  the  bank,  covered  by  the  stone  bank- 
wall,  since  partly  or  wholly  removed,  to  build,  it  is  said,  the 
porter's  lodge  at  the  cemetery. 

On  our  left  there  were,  at  first,  no  troops ;  our  regiment 
appeared  to  be  the  extreme  left  of  our  assaulting  line 
thereabouts.  A  board  fence,  running  at  right  angles  to 
the  front,  separated  the  left  from  the  right  of  the  regiment. 
Through  this  fence  a  heavy  shot  from  the  right  occasion 
ally  tore  a  hole,  one  of  them  striking  a  poor  fellow  in  the 
bowels  cut  him  nearly  in  two,  tore  off  the  leg  of  another 
man  and  dashed  it  against  the  fence,  then  passed  on  its 
way,  spattering  the  men  near  by  with  blood  and  fragments 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  87 

of  flesh.  The  reports  of  the  enemy's  guns  and  the  burst 
ing  of  their  shells  seemed  almost  together,  we  were  so 
near  them ;  and  the  difficulty  they  found  in  depressing 
their  guns  was  our  safety.  Sergeant  William  H.  Allen 
was  color-bearer ;  the  regimental  flag  was  torn  by  bullets, 
and  the  staff,  cut  half  through  by  a  ball,  broke  in  two. 

We  received  no  orders  to  advance  beyond  this  ridge, 
nor  was  any  attempt  made  to  do  so,  in  this  part  of  the 
line,  until  nearly  dark.  No  general  officer  came  near  the 
troops  for  a  long  time.  To  all  appearances  we  could  have 
gone  considerably  nearer  the  heights,  with  some  such  a 
rush  into  the  hollow  as  at  Antietam,  and  with  similar  loss, 
but  the  exigency  of  the  battle  did  not  force  us  to  it ;  our 
line,  at  first,  would  have  been  too  thin  to  take  the  works, 
and  the  men  wisely  preferred  the  ridge  to  such  another 
valley  of  death.  It  was  reported  at  the  time  along  the 
line  that  a  canal  ran  in  the  depression  in  front,  which  was 
not  the  fact ;  the  real  canal  was  to  the  right,  and  nearer 
the  city.  The  men  loaded  and  fired  deliberately,  aiming 
and  calculating  every  shot  —  but  this  was  not  the  way  to 
take  Marye's  Heights.  Most  of  the  shots  fired  at  us  went 
too  high ;  but  there  were  sufficient  lower  down  to  keep  up 
the  excitement,  men  of  our  regiment  and  of  the  others 
falling  all  the  time.  Soon  other  lines  of  regiments  — 
General  Nagle's  brigade  of  our  corps  and  General  Car 
roll's  brigade  of  the  Third  Corps  —  came  up  behind  us, 
the  men  stopping  as  we  had  done,  breathless,  and  remain 
ing  there,  kneeling  or  lying  down,  in  good  lines,  but 
massed  closely. 

After  firing  an  hour  or  so  our  ammunition  was  expended, 
and  our  men  drew  back  from  the  ridge,  inviting  the  troops 
behind  to  move  up  and  continue  the  firing,  which  they  did. 
Lying  on  the  hither  side  of  the  now  muddy  slope,  we  had 
nothing  to  do  but  watch  the  enemy's  missiles  and  our 


88  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

troops  coming  up  to  reenforce,  when  we  had  too  many 
men  already,  if  no  further  advance  was  to  be  made.  The 
cottage  behind  us  caught  the  enemy's  bullets  in  a  manner 
remarkable  to  witness ;  one  could  tell  the  height  of  the 
thickest  of  the  shower  by  a  glance  at  the  peppered  wall. 
A  west  chimney  seemed  to  catch  everything  going,  and 
brick  dust  flew  from  it  continually ;  at  last,  it  had  crum 
bled  so,  the  upper  part  came  rattling  down  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  beholders.  The  declining  sun  behind  the 
Confederate  lines  illuminated  the  field  towards  the  city, 
and  it  was  a  splendid  sight  to  see  the  admirably  kept  lines 
of  battle  of  our  reinforcements,  as  they  came  towards  us, 
wavering  a  little  to  close  up  gaps,  which  the  enemy's  shells, 
passing  over  heads,  ploughed  in  their  ranks.  One  full 
regiment,  or  brigade,  came  on  with  drum  corps  beating 
the  charge  in  superb  style.  But  they  all  stopped  on 
reaching  our  position,  and  lay  or  stooped  down.  Columns 
in  mass  might  have  had  momentum  sufficient  to  pass  the 
ridge  and  go  down  into  the  hollow,  but  regiments  in  line 
seemed  powerless  to  get  past  us  when  once  they  had 
stopped  for  breath  after  their  long  run. 

A  general  rode  up  on  horseback  to  the  cottage  fence, 
and  waved  his  hat  to  the  men.  It  was  General  Griffin  of 
the  Fifth  Corps.  The  cheers  with  which  he  was  received 
drowned  the  sounds  of  battle.  His  division  had  been  sent 
to  relieve  ours.  The  Twenty-Second  Massachusetts  was 
part  of  that  division ;  and,  taking  position  along  the  ridge 
at  our  left,  they  fired  by  volleys  at  the  word  of  command, 
as  if  upon  drill,  in  an  admirable  manner.  It  was  near  sun 
set  when  the  Confederate  line  was  relieved  or  reenforced, 
for  we  could  see  the  forms  of  their  men  dark  against  the 
red  western  sky.  The  musketry  from  our  lines  redoubled 
at  the  sight.  The  Twenty-Second  or  Eighteenth  Massa 
chusetts,  also  of  Colonel  Barnes's  brigade  —  it  was  impos- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  89 

sible  to  distinguish  the  regiments  there,  unless  acquainted 
with  the  officers  (corps  badges  had  not  come  into  use)  — 
was  forming  column  with  the  leading  files  over  the  ridge 
at  this  time ;  they  made  a  charge  to  the  front,  but  had  to 
come  back,  leaving  their  dead  in  the  hollow.  Captain 
Andrews  had  taken  command  of  our  regiment,  and,  the 
brigade  being  relieved,  he  formed  such  of  the  men  as 
could  be  got  together  in  the  mass  of  troops  now  gathered 
behind  the  ridge,  and  waiting  for  darkness  lead  us  back 
to  the  city.  We  had  been  six  hours  in  line  of  battle.  The 
field  over  which  we  retired  was  strown  with  the  dead  and 
wounded,  and  equipments  and  equipage  of  all  sorts ;  any 
thing  picked  up  in  the  darkness,  to  replace  goods  lost, 
was,  more  likely  than  not,  found  dabbled  with  blood  when 
brought  to  the  light. 

The  losses  in  General  Sturgis's  division  had  been  about 
one  thousand.  In  General  Ferrero's  brigade,  eighty-three 
killed  and  four  hundred  and  thirty  wounded ;  of  whom  the 
Eleventh  New  Hampshire  (their  first  battle)  lost  thirty  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  seventy  wounded.  The  casualties 
in  our  regiment  were  ten  killed  and  about  sixty  wounded. 
The  slaughter  upon  our  right  —  where  the  troops  are  said 
to  have  been  more  exposed  and  to  have  approached  nearer 
the  enemy — was  greater,  General  Hancock's  division  los 
ing  two  thousand  men,  General  French's  twelve  hundred 
—  of  General  Couch's  Second  Corps  —  and  others  in  pro 
portion.  The  total  loss  in  the  Union  army  was  12,353  ; 
in  the  Confederate  army,  4,576;  as  computed  by  Captain 
Phisterer. 

The  names  of  the  killed  in  the  Thirty-Fifth  were :  Major 
Sidney  Willard ;  First  Lieutenant  William  Hill,  then  com 
manding  Company  K  (both  originally  officers  of  Company 
I) ;  John  W.  Hodges,  of  Company  C  ;  Avery  A.  Capen 
and  Isaiah  Hunt,  of  Company  E ;  First  Sergeant  Daniel 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Lamson,  of  Company  H ;  Corporal  John  E.  McKew  and 
George  C.  Bunker,  of  Company  I ;  Oliver  S.  Currier  and 
Oliver  P.  Robinson,  of  Company  K. 

Lieutenant  Hill  was  a  young  man  from  mercantile  life, 
who  had  been  wounded  at  South  Mountain,  and  was  not 
very  generally  known  in  the  regiment.  Lieutenant  Hatch 
was  wounded  in  the  knee,  apparently  his  only  vulnerable 
spot. 

Our  great  and  irreparable  loss  was  in  Major  Willard,  an 
officer  who  lacked  only  the  experience  he  was  so  solicitous 
to  obtain,  to  have  made  as  fine  a  soldier,  in  appearance  or 
acquirements,  as  the  army  could  produce.  Intellectually, 
morally  and  physically,  he  was  the  beau  ideal  of  a  com 
mander  of  men.  It  is  one  of  the  compensations  of  the 
service  that  it  acquaints  us  with  such  men,  who  elevate 
our  conceptions  of  humanity,  yet,  too  often,  leave  us  only 
their  examples  and  not  their  living  presence  to  admire. 
He  died  in  Fredericksburg  the  next  day ;  his  last  words 
being,  "Tell  them  I  tried  to  do  my  duty  to  my  country  and 
the  regiment."  No  words  can  do  fit  honor  to  such  sacrifice. 
The  motto  of  the  Independent  Cadets,  with  whom  he  re 
ceived  his  military  instruction,  is  "  Monstrat  viam" 

The  night,  fortunately  for  the  wounded  upon  the  field, 
was  quite  warm  for  the  season.  We  spent  it,  as  before,  by 
the  river  bank.  Some  of  the  officers  and  men  gathered 
in  a  house,  where  services  were  held.  Lieutenant  Mirick 
read  from  the  Bible,  and  a  private  soldier  offered  prayer. 
In  the  morning  the  stragglers  were  collected,  and  ammu 
nition  was  distributed.  Small  rations  of  whiskey  were 
dealt  out,  whether  to  counteract  the  fatigue  and  depression 
of  the  defeat  or  to  prepare  us  for  another  attempt  is  not 
known ;  for  it  was  during  this  day  that  General  Burnside, 
bitterly  disappointed  at  the  failure  of  the  assault,  —  which 
he  at  first  attributed  to  slackness  in  his  subordinate  gen- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  9 1 

erals  —  resolved  to  form  the  Ninth  Corps,  consisting  of 
some  eighteen  old  regiments  and  some  new  ones,  and, 
placing  himself  at  their  head,  march  to  death  or  victory ; 
but  the  cooler  heads  of  Generals  Sumner,  Franklin,  Hooker 
and  others  dissuaded  him.  The  chance  for  important  re 
sults  from  such  an  attempt  was  small ;  the  men  were  glad 
to  be  spared  a  second  trial  of  such  a  kind.  A  mail  was 
received,  and  the  home  letters  were  read  during  the  sus 
pense  of  waiting.  At  noon  men  had  found  flour  in  the 
city,  and,  as  the  movement  appeared  to  be  abandoned, 
all  who  could  find  utensils  busied  themselves  frying  batter 
cakes  for  dinner.  In  such  close  contact  lie,  in  war,  the 
sublimities  of  death  in  the  grand  assault  and  the  meaner 
duties  by  which  the  life  of  the  soldier  is  sustained. 

It  came  on  very  dark  at  night;  orders  to  "fall-in"  were 
received,  and  the  brigade  marched  back  through  the  city, 
as  before,  to  the  railway  station,  where  the  streets  were 
crowded  with  moving  troops  changing  positions.  Thence, 
under  cover  of  the  darkness,  we  moved  silently  out  to  the 
position  of  the  day  before  along  the  ridge  near  the  two 
houses,  and  lay  down  upon  the  frozen  mud,  or,  if  one  were 
lucky,  upon  a  board  from  the  fence,  and,  rifle  in  hand, 
waited  in  suspense  for  any  movement  from  our  foes.  A 
counter  assault  was  dreaded  in  the  bad  position  and  rather 
discouraged  condition  of  the  army.  We  felt  how  much 
depended  upon  our  holding  the  ridge  to  the  death,  and 
the  uncertainty  of  the  result  of  a  night  attack  upon  our 
single  line  made  the  situation  one  of  terrible  anxiety. 
The  Confederates  tried  the  line,  but,  finding  us  ready, 
desisted.  Their  generals  discussed  a  plan  of  attack  upon 
the  city,  but  abandoned  it  —  information  which  would  have 
been  welcome  to  us  that  night.  The  men  threw  up  a  little 
parapet  of  earth  and  rubbish,  particularly  upon  the  left 
of  the  regiment,  which  was  most  exposed,  which  did  good 


92  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

service  as  a  shelter  from  the  sharpshooters  when  daylight 
came  again. 

During  the  day  the  situation  remained  the  same,  both 
sides  hesitating  to  take  the  initiative.  Their  marksmen 
were  very  watchful  and  quick  to  fire  at  any  part  of  the 
person  exposed  above  the  ridge,  while  our  men  were  for 
bidden  to  use  their  rifles  unless  attacked.  Few  moved 
more  than  once  or  twice  during  the  whole  day,  but  some, 
with  the  dare-devil  recklessness  of  their  kind,  would  jump 
up  and  run  a  few  steps  to  enjoy  the  excitement  of  drawing 
fire.  Another  terrible  night  came  on,  and  it  was  getting 
quite  past  longer  endurance  when,  at  midnight,  after  twenty- 
eight  hours  of  as  trying  picket  duty  as  the  regiment  ever 
endured,  the  brigade  was  relieved,  and  the  men,  stiff  and 
unnerved  from  their  enforced  quiet,  fell  in  and  marched 
through  the  now  deserted  streets  of  the  desolate  city  to 
the  pontoon  bridges,  where  they  crossed  at  once,  much  to 
their  astonishment,  for  it  was  the  first  intimation  they  had 
received  that  the  city  was  to  be  evacuated  by  our  army. 
After  crossing  the  river  the  regiment  marched  to  its  barren 
but  welcome  camp  near  the  battery,  reaching  it  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  rainy  morning  of  the  sixteenth  of  December. 

At  that  time  we  supposed  ourselves  to  have  been  among 
the  last  to  leave  the  city,  but  General  Hooker  testifies  that 
"  it  was  late  when  I  got  the  order  to  withdraw  my  com 
mand,  between  three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
it  was  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  when  the  last  troops 
were  withdrawn.  The  enemy  did  not  seem  to  realize  but 
that  there  were  troops  in  the  houses.  I  withdrew  my 
exterior  lines  of  pickets  last  of  all,  and  they  were  not 
followed  by  the  enemy." 

The  great  event  was  over,  and  success  had  not  perched 
upon  our  standards.  Our  opponents  at  Marye's  Heights 
had  been  of  Longstreet's  Corps,  as  previously  at  South 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  93 

Mountain  and  Antietam  Bridge,  and  this  time  they  got 
the  better  of  us.  The  enterprise  had  been  carried  out 
with  less  energy  than  General  Burnside  had  intended, 
owing,  apparently,  to  lack  of  explicit  orders  on  the  left 
wing  and  lack  of  commanders  with  the  men  on  the  right ; 
but  the  losses  had  been  sufficient  to  excuse  to  the  country 
all  further  movement  of  the  army  that  winter.  The  gen 
eral,  however,  eager  for  results,  declined  to  go  into  winter 
quarters,  and  continued  his  plans  for  action ;  as  a  conse 
quence,  keeping  the  men  in  a  state  of  constant  uneasiness, 
and  hindering  them  from  trying  to  improve  their  temporary 
camps  and  quarters.  The  winter  months  were,  therefore, 
full  of  discouragement  and  discomfort. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  December,  at  8  A.  M.,  the  regiment 
left  the  camp  in  rear  of  the  battery  and  returned  to  its 
position  in  the  square  with  the  brigade,  described  in  the 
last  chapter.  On  joining  the  brigade,  Captain  Lathrop 
was  sent,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  in  command  of  a  detail 
of  fifty  men  of  the  brigade  (ten  from  the  Thirty-Fifth)  to 
assist  in  burying  the  dead  on  the  battle-field  of  Fredericks- 
burg.  The  detail  was  allowed  to  approach  the  stone  wall 
as  near  as  there  were  any  bodies  found  lying.  They  buried 
one  hundred  and  eight  men  that  afternoon,  nearly  all  of 
them  stark  naked,  their  clothing  stripped  off  by  the  enemy. 

The  regiment  found  the  locality  of  the  camp  cleared  of 
every  kind  of  material  for  camp  making  —  rails  gone,  trees 
cut  down,  even  the  roots  dug  for  fuel,  the  whole  place  a 
waste  of  loamy  undulating  field  land.  The  low  shelter 
tents  were  pitched  in  company  streets,  and  beds  were 
made  of  grass,  pine-needles  and  pieces  of  cracker  boxes. 
Green  pitch-pine  wood  was  brought  by  wagons  and  fatigue 
parties  from  a  distance  for  the  cooks'  smoky  fires.  If  any 
one  would  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  fire  for  himself  he 
had  to  bring  his  fuel  upon  his  back  a  mile  or  so. 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  food  was  abundant  but  coarse :  fat  salt-pork,  fresh 
beef,  beans,  hard  bread  —  old  and  weevilly,  baked  for 
McClellan's  campaign,  each  box  marked  "  White  House  " 
—  and,  occasionally,  potatoes  or  rice,  with,  of  course, 
coffee  and  brown  sugar.  We  had  learned  to  make  little 
bags  to  hold  the  rations  of  ground  coffee,  sugar  and  salt. 
The  cooking  utensils  were  the  three  or  four  iron  pots  of 
the  cook  and  our  fire-blackened  tin  dippers,  one  of  which 
each  man  carried  slung  to  his  greasy  haversack  ;  there 
were  also  two  or  three  small  frying-pans  to  a  company, 
which  some  provident  men  had  acquired  on  the  route 
hither  or  in  the  opposite  city.  The  beans  would  be 
cooked  by  stewing  or  baking  in  the  iron  pots ;  these  par 
tially  cleansed  and  then  the  coffee  boiled  in  them.  The 
beans  were  eaten  out  of  the  tin  dippers,  and  afterwards 
the  coffee  was  drunk  from  them ;  if  there  were  no  beans 
it  was  beef  soup ;  what  the  coffee  tasted  like  one  may 
hardly  imagine  —  it  was  called  coffee  from  habit  rather 
than  from  any  resemblance  to  it  in  smell  or  taste.  It 
required  a  day's  manoeuvring  to  get  the  utensils  and  hot 
water  to  wash  a  woollen  shirt  —  the  washerwoman  never 
called  at  the  back  door  there ;  the  man  who  owned  more 
than  one  whole  shirt  was  a  fop.  Sutlers  were  few  at  first, 
being  kept  back  by  orders  or  the  rough  roads ;  in  their 
absence  we  had  to  depend  upon  the  cookies  of  our  friends 
of  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire.  Active  games  or  sports 
were  hardly  attempted  ;  the  mud  was  a  hindrance,  even  if 
there  had  been  spirit  for  them  among  the  men. 

We  were  too  lately  from  home  to  take  these  things  as 
a  matter  of  course  and  make  the  best  of  them,  as  old 
soldiers  do ;  it  takes  a  year's  service  to  make  a  veteran. 
December  and  January  are  hard  months  for  human  nature 
to  endure  even  in  comfortable  circumstances  around  the 
domestic  hearth ;  our  condition  upon  that  Falmouth  plain, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  95 

in  the  situation  we  have  described,  could  not  but  be  mis 
erable.  Turn  which  way  one  would,  it  was  cold  comfort 
everywhere  for  body  or  mind,  and  all  tended  to  dejection. 
The  wind  swept  across  the  open  fields  and  searched  our 
very  marrow.  The  newspapers  and  letters  from  home,  if 
cheery,  made  the  contrast  of  our  position  more  gloomy ; 
if  they  were  depressed,  so  were  we,  and  we  threw  them 
aside.  It  was  not  pleasant  to  review  the  battles  of  the 
past,  or  anticipate  similar  ones  in  the  future.  The  country 
was  struggling  through  the  great  division  of  parties  upon 
the  question  of  Emancipation,  and  party  spirit  and  abuse 
added  to  the  darkness  of  the  surroundings.  At  night, 
sleep  was  happy  release  from  care,  but  even  then  cold 
compelled  most  of  the  men  to  turn  out  once  or  twice  to 
the  fire  to  warm  up. 

The  best  relief  was  work —  to  keep  at  something  all  the 
time.  Those  who  did  so  became  veteran  soldiers.  Those 
who  lay  about  the  cooks'  fires  listlessly,  or  coiled  up  in 
blankets  in  their  little  tents,  soon  found  the  way  to  the 
surgeon's  tent,  the  hospital  and,  often,  to  their  graves. 
The  lying  upon  cold  ground,  indigestible  food  and  low 
spirits  soon  affected  the  health  of  the  men,  and  the  "  sick- 
call"  of  the  surgeon  was  attended  by  a  motley  throng  with 
woe-begone  faces,  most  of  them  really  ill,  but  some  of  them 
under  suspicions  of  their  first  sergeants  and  the  doctors  as 
chronic  hospital  "  bummers/'  as  they  were  called.  The 
word  "bummer  "  was  used  in  this  sense  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  long  before  Sherman's  foragers  adopted  it  and 
made  it  famous.  The  bugler's  sick-call  was  interpreted 
as  follows  :  "  To  the  doc-tor !  To  the  doc-tor !  Come  get 
your  pills — for  aches  and  ills!  Come  get  your  pills  —  of 
the  doc-tor ! "  If  there  was  a  pause  out  of  place,  or  a  false 
note,  it  was  because  the  bugler  had  a  hair  in  his  mouth  and 
had  stopped  to  swear  a  bit  —  at  which  the  boys  jeered. 


96  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Camp  duty  was  carried  out  according  to  the  usual  pro 
gramme,  when  the  weather  permitted,  with  regular  morning 
and  afternoon  drills  and  evening  parades,  with  music  from 
the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire  Band.  A  tour  of  picket  duty 
for  twenty-four  hours  took  the  regiment,  or  heavy  details 
from  it,  to  the  Rappahannock  about  once  a  week.  Near 
the  river,  below  Falmouth,  are  deep  curving  gullies  or 
canyons,  in  which  the  reserves  lay,  while  the  videttes 
paced  the  road  along  the  river.  In  these  ravines  grew 
quantities  of  laurel  bush,  and  all  who  could  whittle  tried 
carving  laurel-wood  pipes  and  ornaments ;  some  of  the 
results  were  quite  elaborate  and  valuable.  The  men  in 
gray  upon  the  opposite  bank  seemed  to  be  busy  very 
much  as  we  were,  enduring  as  philosophically  as  possible 
the  winter  months  and  keeping  a  watchful  eye  upon  our 
movements.  Some  attempts  were  made  at  trading  with  little 
rafts  freighted  with  coffee  for  tobacco,  until  the  commerce 
was  declared  contraband  by  orders  from  headquarters. 

December  23,  General  Sumner  reviewed  the  Right  Grand 
Division ;  most  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  were  excused,  having 
just  come  off  picket ;  the  band  of  the  Thirty-Third  Mas 
sachusetts  played  very  finely.  December  24,  one  hundred 
men  from  the  regiment  on  picket ;  Captain  Andrews  had  a 
battalion  drill  with  only  sixty-four  men  present.  December 
25  (Christmas  Day),  baked  beans  for  breakfast;  no  drills; 
only  duty  was  dress-parade  ;  pies,  forty  cents  each  !  De 
cember  26,  brigade  drill  in  the  afternoon.  December  29, 
orders  to  have  three  days'  rations  on  hand,  but  counter 
manded;  the  Signal  Corps  balloon  was  up.  December 
30,  Quartermaster  Haines,  having  received  his  discharge, 
started  for  home;  Quartermaster- Sergeant  Upton  was 
commissioned  quartermaster  of  the  regiment,  and  Ser 
geant  Cutter  was  appointed  quartermaster-sergeant,  with 
Jesse  Holmes  as  clerk. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  97 

On  New  Year's  Eve  the  band  visited  the  headquarters 
of  each  regiment  of  the  brigade,  and,  while  the  hilarity  of 
the  occasion  was  at  full  tide,  some  of  the  unsanctified 
tried  to  tempt  our  chaplain  from  his  steadfast  ways ;  but, 
although  there  was  some  boisterous  fun,  they  did  not 
succeed.  Speaking  of  this  gentleman  reminds  us  of  the 
prayers  which  it  was  his  duty  to  extemporize,  bareheaded 
in  the  freezing  air,  in  front  of  the  regiment,  as  part  of  the 
exercises  of  evening  parade.  Doubtless  each  man  receives 
much  or  little  good  from  such  services,  according  to  his 
nature ;  to  some  of  us  it  seemed  that  so  much  petitioning 
for  the  souls  of  such  as  should  perish  in  the  coming 
"  battel "  did  not  tend  to  encourage  the  weak-kneed,  and 
might  have  been  abbreviated.  The  creed  of  the  soldiers 
at  the  front  was  very  simple ;  they  felt  that  our  cause  was 
as  near  the  cause  of  good  and  of  God  as  it  could  well  be 

—  the  Confederates  probably  thought  the  same  of  theirs 

—  and  each  felt  an  entire  confidence  that  it  would  be  well 
with  those  who  lost  their  lives.    "  Poor  fellow,  it's  all  right 
with  him  now,"  they  said  of  the  fallen,  and  they  believed 
it.     Most  of  them  despised  anything  like  whining;   they 
preferred  to  turn  their  thoughts  from  the  event  of  their 
own  death,  and  dwell  upon  their  purpose  and  the  means 
of  accomplishing  it,  leaving  personal  results  to  the   Dis 
penser  of  all.     So  our  chaplain  found  his  situation  rather 
a  cold  one  —  his  duty  as  postmaster  of  the  regiment  was 
also  unpleasant  to  him  —  and  he  did  not  remain  long  with 
us,  but  chose  rather  to  enter  actively  into  service  as  captain 
in  a  colored  regiment,  where  he  served  with  credit  through 
the  war.     After  he  left  we  had  no  chaplain,  and  seldom 
heard  a  religious  service ;  but  the  men  were  kept  so  con 
stantly  sobered  by  events  that  additional  restraint  was  not 
often  needed.    Why  ask  for  a  chaplain  when  we  had  a  Pope 
constantly  present  with  us,  for  example  and  edification  ? 


•98  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

For  some  time  Christmas  boxes  were  delayed  in  Wash 
ington,  pending  our  movements,  until  they  accumulated  in 
piles  as  big  as  the  pyramids,  and  almost  as  old.  Their 
contents,  mostly  eatables,  perished  or  acquired  a  strong 
musty  flavor,  rather  disappointing  to  the  receiver  when 
they  reached  camp.  One  must  be  a  new  recruit,  in  such 
a  place,  on  such  a  diet,  to  fully  appreciate  and  enjoy  home 
goodies.  It  is  almost  laughable  now  to  think  how  much 
the  boys  prized  their  boxes  from  home. 

Furloughs  were  not  granted  to  the  men,  for  the  reason 
that  we  were  not  in  winter  quarters  —  another  source  of 
vexation ;  for  what  was  the  use  of  winning  honors  if  we 
were  not  to  be  permitted,  once  in  a  while,  to  display  our 
heroic  selves  before  the  eyes  of  admiring  relatives  and 
friends. 

January  6,  1863,  there  was  a  grand  review  of  the  Ninth 
Corps,  at  2  P.  M.,  before  Generals  Burnside,  Sumner  and 
Wilcox.  January  14,  E.  Jernagan,  of  Company  E,  died; 
our  first  death  by  disease  in  camp  since  we  had  been  in 
service.  January  15,  the  regiment  was  under  command 
•of  Captain  Andrews,  with  Captain  Pratt  acting  lieutenant- 
colonel  and  Captain  Lathrop  acting  major;  Lieutenant 
C.  A.  Blanchard  was  acting  adjutant.  There  were  two 
captains  in  command  of  companies ;  three  companies  were 
commanded  by  first  lieutenants,  three  by  second  lieuten 
ants,  and  two  by  first  sergeants.  There  were  two  hundred 
and  seventy-five  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  for 
duty,  sixty-eight  men  on  extra  duty,  away  from  the  regiment, 
fifty  on  daily  duty  with  the  regiment ;  total  for  duty,  three 
hundred  and  ninety-three.  There  were  still  eight  hundred 
and  six  names  borne  on  the  rolls  as  belonging  to  the  regi 
ment.  The  few  officers  present,  however,  received  full 
credit,  for  when  the  Adjutant-General's  Report  (Massa 
chusetts)  was  printed  it  was  found  to  contain  the  following 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  99 

eulogium  :  "Among  the  many  good  regiments  that  Massa 
chusetts  has  sent  forward,  few,  if  any,  surpass  the  Thirty- 
Fifth,  especially  in  its  officers,"  which,  it  is  hoped,  was 
fully  deserved.  At  all  events  the  men  learned  how  to 
take  care  of  themselves  in  a  way  which  was  always  after 
wards  noticeable ;  so  that,  at  a  subsequent  time,  when  a 
field  officer  of  ours  on  staff  duty  informed  the  general  of 
the  division  that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  quit  the  staff  and 
return  to  the  regiment  —  then  almost  without  officers  — 
the  general  remarked,  "  Oh,  don't  bother  yourself  on  that 
account,  your  regiment  runs  itself  !  " 

On  the  sixteenth  of  January  Shepard  G.  Wiggin,  of 
Company  A,  died  of  lung  fever  in  the  regimental  hospital. 
On  the  same  day  we  were  under  orders  to  move,  with  three 
days'  rations ;  also  on  the  seventeenth,  eighteenth,  nine 
teenth,  and  on  the  twentieth  the  orders  were  to  march  at 
four  o'clock  next  morning ;  but  these  were  countermanded 
at  ten  o'clock  the  same  evening.  This  was  the  occasion 
of  the  famous  attempt  to  effect  a  lodgment  on  Lee's  left 
flank  by  a  crossing  at  Banks's  Ford  above  us,  which  was 
frustrated  by  the  severe  storm,  and  got  the  name  of  the 
"  Mud-march."  Sumner's  Grand  Division,  being  in  sight 
of  the  Confederate  look-outs  opposite,  remained  undis 
turbed,  as  a  mask  for  the  rest  of  the  army  as  it  moved 
up  to  the  ford,  and  consequently  did  not  get  word  to  start 
before  the  weather  vetoed  the  movement;  for  which  we 
were  duly  thankful,  for  our  quarters,  wretched  as  they 
were,  would  have  been  much  worse  had  we,  by  a  move, 
lost  the  little  store  of  comforts  we  had  collected.  The 
Confederates,  well  informed  of  the  predicament  of  our 
army  caught  in  the  storm  abroad  in  the  fields  of  miry 
clay  and  impassable  roads,  posted  up  a  sign:  "Burnside 
stuck  in  the  mud ! "  in  derision  of  our  helplessness. 

The  pickets,  however,  had  a  share  in  the  bad  weather 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

on  the  river  bank  on  the  twenty-first;  those  who  were 
present  will  remember  the  miseries  of  the  situation.  The 
rain  was  mingled  with  sleet ;  the  pine-bough  shelters  in 
the  ravines  were  soaked  with  moisture,  and  made  such 
cold  shower-baths  the  men  preferred  to  stand  or  walk 
about  in  the  mud  on  the  banks  of  the  brook  which  drained 
the  gully.  There  was  absolutely  no  place  to  sit  which  was 
not  soaked  with  the  wet,  nor  dry  fuel  there  for  fires.  The 
troops  present  seemed  to  be  in  greater  numbers  than  usual, 
and  more  gray-coats  were  opposite ;  each  anticipating  that 
the  other  might  try  to  cross  at  Falmouth.  In  the  road 
below  the  hill  was  an  immense  cannon,  stalled  in  the  mud, 
and  abandoned  until  fair  weather  should  enable  it  to  be 
extricated.  We  wandered  upon  the  hill  above  the  little 
town,  and  found  there  passing  the  Twentieth  Massachu 
setts,  with  whom  we  discussed  the  situation ;  among  them 
was  the  lamented  Lieutenant  Ropes,  afterwards  killed  at 
Gettysburg. 

At  night  the  reserve  guard  was  assembled  in  a  little 
dilapidated  church  on  the  hill,  from  which  all  the  pews 
and  furniture  had  been  removed ;  and  for  light  and  warmth 
the  men,  after  placing  beds  of  plaster  five  or  six  inches 
deep  here  and  there  upon  the  floor  for  fireplaces,  built 
fires  upon  them  with  fuel  from  the  neighboring  fences. 
In  course  of  the  night  these  fires  burned  round  holes 
through  the  flooring,  but  did  not  ignite  the  building  fur 
ther;  the  mud  was  tracked  in  to  quite  a  depth  and  helped 
to  prevent  the  fires  spreading.  The  enemy  opposite,  by 
accident  or  intention — perhaps  fearing  our  immediate 
crossing,  and  wishing  to  light  up  the  scene  or  remove  an 
obstacle  to  their  artillery  range  —  burned  a  long  brick 
factory  for  our  amusement ;  and  the  fire,  the  rain,  the 
turbid  river,  and  gathered  troops  made  an  impressive 
spectacle.  In  the  morning  the  men  waded  through  a  sea 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS. 

of  mud  to  camp.  After  such  a  tour  of  duty,  even  the 
poorest  camp  quarters  seemed  comfortable. 

In  the  obscurity  of  that  stormy  night,  Albert  W.  Daven 
port,  of  Company  B,  on  his  way  with  the  relief  guard  to 
his  vidette  post,  slipped,  unseen  by  his  comrades,  from  the 
path  along  the  verge  of  the  cliff,  and  was  drowned  in  the 
river  below,  his  cries  being  unheard  in  the  tempest.  His 
absence  was  not  discovered  until  the  sergeant  reached  his 
last  posts  and  found  his  squad  one  man  short.  It  was  a 
sad,  lonely  ending  to  life.  His  body  was  found  by  men  of 
the  Second  Maryland,  a  few  days  afterwards,  and  brought 
to  the  regiment.  A  little  enclosed  lot  in  rear  of  camp  was 
used  as  a  place  of  interment. 

While  Jacob  G.  Clarkson,  of  Company  A,  was  drawing 
his  gun  by  the  muzzle  from  under  the  eaves  of  his  shelter 
tent  the  charge  exploded,  injuring  his  thumb ;  chloroform 
was  administered  to  him  at  the  hospital  tent,  and  he  died 
under  its  influence. 

January  23,  Franklin's  men  were  straggling  back  from 
the  mud-march ;  many  of  them  stopped  a  few  moments  in 
camp  as  they  passed.  On  the  same  day  there  was  a  row 
between  some  of  the  men  of  our  brigade  and  the  sutler, 
whom  they  undertook  to  "  clean  out ; "  two  shots  were 
fired,  and  the  crowd  scattered.  The  roll  was  called  to 
discover  absentees  from  quarters,  but  none  of  our  men 
appeared  to  have  had  an  active  part  in  the  business. 

There  were  several  severe  storms  of  rain  and  snow  in 
January,  and,  after  the  return  from  the  mud-march,  orders 
for  winter  quarters  were  issued,  and  the  men  set  about 
making  their  camps  as  comfortable  as  possible.  Pine  logs 
were  brought  from  long  distances,  the  tents  raised  and 
banked  up,  and  little  chimneys  built  of  sticks  and  clayey 
mud,  surmounted  by  a  barrel.  Sutlers  and  boxes  from 
home  came  in  greater  abundance. 


o?  THE  THIRTY-FIFTH  REGIMENT, 

January  26,  General  Burnside  was  relieved  of  the  com 
mand  of  the  army,  and  General  Hooker  succeeded  to  his 
place.  January  28  and  29,  snow  fell  to  quite  a  depth  and 
lay  drifted  in  the  company  streets,  nearly  covering  some 
of  the  low  tents;  the  snow-flakes  blew  in  between  the 
seams  of  the  tent  cloth  and  spread  upon  the  blankets  of 
the  sleepers,  but  comrades  were  found  all  right  when  dug 
out  in  the  morning;  Lieutenant  Park,  wounded  at  An- 
tietam,  returned  to  duty  with  the  regiment ;  Lieutenant 
Burrell  left  us,  and  was  unable  afterwards  to  rejoin  the 
regiment  on  account  of  physical  disability.  February  4, 
James  T.  Andrews,  of  Company  A,  the  captain's  cousin, 
died  in  camp.  February  7,  Sergeant  William  H.  Mat 
thews,  of  Company  C,  Sergeant  of  the  Ambulance  Corps, 
fell  a  victim  to  the  hardships  of  the  campaign  and  died 
of  fever. 

Other  members  of  the  regiment  were  transferred  to 
general  hospitals  about  Washington,  and  died  there  from 
diseases  acquired  in  camp.  Among  them  were :  Francis 
J.  Nash,  of  Company  B ;  Henry  Keiley,  of  Company  E ; 
James  Rowe,  of  Company  H ;  Frederick  A.  Hews,  of 
Company  I.  Charles  B.  Blanchard,  of  Company  H,  who 
was  taken  prisoner  near  Wheatland,  Virginia,  died  in 
Richmond. 

With  the  assumption  of  command  by  General  Hooker, 
General  Sedgwick  —  afterwards  the  famous  chief  of  the 
Sixth  Corps  —  was  assigned,  for  a  few  days,  to  the  com 
mand  of  the  Ninth  Corps.  After  him,  for  a  short  time, 
General  William  F.  Smith  commanded  the  corps.  He 
was  afterwards  at  the  head  of  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  at 
Petersburg,  and,  it  is  said,  was  at  one  time  urged  by 
General  Grant  for  chief  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in 
place  of  General  Meade ;  but  this  was  before  the  attack 
on  Petersburg.  On  the  third  of  February,  General  Hooker 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  103 

wanted  to  have  General  Smith  appointed  permanent  com 
mander  of  our  corps.  Halleck  replied  :  "  Major-General 
Burnside  is  the  permanent  commander  of  the  Ninth  Army 
Corps ;  but  make  such  temporary  changes  as  you  may 
deem  proper."  General  Smith  was  relieved,  at  Newport 
News,  by  General  Parke. 

About  the  first  of  February  the  weather  became  milder 
for  several  days ;  the  influence  of  spring  was  soon  felt, 
hope  revived  with  the  season,  and  the  memory  of  the  dark 
days  of  December  grew  less  oppressive.  New  supplies  of 
food,  even  soft  bread  once,  and  more  vegetables,  appeared 
from  the  commissary's ;  and  General  Hooker,  dropping  all 
thoughts  of  present  action,  devoted  his  whole  attention  to 
the  improvement  of  his  command.  But  we  were  not  to 
share  his  defeat  at  Chancellorsville,  or  the  hard-won  vic 
tory  of  General  Meade  at  Gettysburg.  General  Burnside 
had  expressed  to  the  Government  a  wish  that  the  Ninth 
Corps  might  be  sent  to  the  department  to  which  it  was 
intended  to  assign  htm ;  and  General  Hooker,  under  the 
advices  quoted  above,  was  not  loath  to  part  with  a  body 
of  troops  belonging  so  exclusively  to  his  predecessor. 
Rumor  of  change,  as  usual,  had  been  busy  for  some  time, 
but  was  little  credited ;  when,  therefore,  we  broke  camp  on 
the  ninth  of  February,  and  marched  to  the  box-cars  for 
transfer  to  Acquia  Creek,  a  smile  lighted  up  many  a  face, 
which  had  been  clouded  for  weeks.  Any  change,  especially 
from  scenes  connected  with  defeat,  is  pleasant  to  the  sol 
dier  ;  and,  as  the  plains  of  Falmouth  and  the  steeples  of 
Fredericksburg  passed  out  of  view,  we  seemed  to  ourselves 
new  men.  We  little  thought  that  when,  next  year,  we  should 
again  see  those  spires  it  would  be  from-  the  heights  where 
now  the  enemy's  lines  were  so  securely  established. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

NEWPORT    NEWS,    AND    SPRING    IN    KENTUCKY,    1863. 

THE  Ninth  Corps  had  been  formed,  in  July,  1862,  of 
troops  which  had  taken  part  in  the  Sherman  Expe 
dition  to  South  Carolina  and  the  Burnside  Expedition  to 
North  Carolina,  and,  after  the  successful  occupation  of 
parts  of  the  seaboard  of  those  states,  had  held  the  country 
gained.  They  had  been  called  thence  to  reenforce  General 
McClellan  upon  the  Peninsula,  stopped  at  Newport  News, 
and  ordered  to  Acquia  Creek.  From  there  two  divisions 
were  sent  to  join  General  Pope,  the  third  remaining  until 
the  first  days  of  September  with  General  Burnside ;  and, 
afterwards,  they  had  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  in  the  course  we  have  thus  far  traced.  The 
fate  of  the  Corps  was  to  be  sent  about  wherever  there  was 
a  call  for  assistance ;  and  it  soon,  very  naturally,  acquired 
the  name  of  "  The  Big  Class  in  Geography.'7  Appear 
ances  were  now  in  favor  of  its  return  to  North  Carolina, 
and  the  first  movement  was  in  that  direction. 

From  the  wharf  at  Acquia  Creek  the  Fifty-First  Penn 
sylvania,  Twenty -First  Massachusetts  and  Thirty-Fifth 
went  on  board  the  steamer  Louisiana,  which  lay  in  the 
stream  all  day  (February  9),  receiving  baggage,  etc.  At 
five  o'clock  next  morning  we  were  steaming  steadily 
down  the  Potomac,  amid  the  jarring  of  machinery  and 
the  swashing  of  water  alongside  —  a  change  of  circum 
stances  so  complete  as  to  be  quite  bewildering.  The 


105  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

steamer  had  in  tow  two  schooners,  containing  the  Fifty- 
First  New  York  and  Eleventh  New  Hampshire.  Head 
lands  of  red  earth  or  sand,  crowned  with  dark  pitch-pines, 
appeared  ahead  and  were  passed,  successively ;  and,  at 
night,  the  broad  waters  of  Chesapeake  Bay  opened  out : 
thence,  the  course  was  directly  south  to  Fortress  Monroe. 
On  the  morning  of  the  eleventh  the  famous  fortress  lay 
upon  our  beam ;  the  noted  Union  gun,  an  immense  cannon 
of  which  great  things  were  expected,  conspicuous  upon 
the  beach.  Upon  our  other  side  the  tide  water  rushed 
and  foamed  among  the  rocks  of  the  ill-reputed  Rip  Raps. 
All  around  us  the  ships  of  war  were  riding  at  anchor,  in 
pleasant  contrast  with  the  scenery  to  which  we  had  of  late 
been  accustomed.  Our  crowded  quarters  upon  the  straw 
between  decks  had,  by  this  time,  been  sufficiently  exam 
ined,  and  the  orders  from  General  Dix  were  received  with 
satisfaction,  to  proceed  to  the  entrance  of  James  River 
and  land  at  Newport  News. 

At  first  view,  Newport  News  had  the  appearance  of  a 
place  where  nothing  new  ever  occurred  or  was  likely  to 
happen.  A  sandy  plain,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  the 
river,  with  a  few  old  barracks,  and  some  earthworks  and 
ditches,  constructed  by  General  Butler's  troops ;  a  gray  sky, 
with  spits  of  rain,  made  up  the  desolate  picture.  Beyond 
the  plain  was  a  swamp,  with  immense  southern  pitch-pines 
—  the  only  striking  feature  of  the  scenery — scattered 
through  it,  and  crossings  leading  out  to  Big  Bethel  and 
Hampton,  in  which  direction  the  pickets  were  posted  while 
we  remained  here.  And  yet,  lonely  as  the  spot  seemed,  it 
had  been  the  scene  'of  stirring  events ;  for,  on  the  ninth  of 
March,  less  than  a  year  before,  had  occurred  here  the 
naval  battle  between  the  iron-clad  Merrimac  and  consorts 
of  the  Confederate  Navy  and  the  Union  wooden  frigates 
Cumberland  and  Congress,  which  revolutionized  the  system 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  Io6 

of  naval  warfare  throughout  the  world.  The  topmasts  of 
the  Cumberland  and  the  charred  timbers  of  the  hull  of  the 
Congress  still  marked  the  spot,  a  warning  to  all  who  would 
accept  it  of  the  danger  of  being  behind  the  age  in  the  art 
of  war. 

The  Third  Division  occupied  the  barracks ;  the  rest  of 
the  corps  encamped  outside  the  entrenchments.  Our 
camp  was  formed  in  brigade  line,  facing  the  river,  with 
the  swamp  in  rear;  the  older  regiments  upon  the  right, 
the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire  upon  our  left.  At  first  we 
had  our  low  shelter  tents  only,  but,  on  the  nineteenth, 
"  A  "  tents  were  distributed,  one  to  every  five  of  the  men, 
which  made  extremely  close  quarters.  Some  of  these  tents, 
owing  to  the  increasing  scarcity  of  cotton,  were  made  en 
tirely  of  hemp  cloth,  and  were  about  as  useful  as  sieves 
for  keeping  out  rain ;  the  fibre  did  not  swell  with  moisture 
sufficiently  to  make  the  cloth  water-tight,  as  canvas  does. 
At  the  same  time  changes  were  made  in  the  position  of 
some  of  the  companies  in  the  regimental  line :  K,  left 
flank  company,  was  transferred  to  the  right  wing,  and  H, 
from  the  right  wing,  was  made  left  flank  company. 

Here  for  six  weeks  we  enjoyed  what  seemed,  after  Fal- 
mouth,  the  fat  of  the  land.  Soft  bread  was  issued  in  large 
loaves  —  a  luxury  never  elsewhere  so  plentifully  enjoyed 
by  the  regiment.  The  locality  is  famous  for  fish  and 
oysters,  and  our  men,  bred  within  view  of  salt  water, 
relished  these  luxuries  with  appetites  sharpened  by  the 
sea  breezes.  The  colored  pedlers  from  the  back  country 
opened  a  market  at  the  east  end  of  camp,  and  those  boys 
who  were  in  funds  lived  high,  while  the  penniless  majority 
were  permitted  to  enjoy  a  free  view  of  the  tantalizing  dis 
play.  There  were  shops  on  the  most  extensive  scale  at  the 
landing  wharf,  and  these,  with  the  other  attractions,  soon 
cleaned  out  the  last  scraps  of  postal  currency  in  the  regiment. 


107  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

On  the  twenty-First  of  February,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Carruth  and  Adjutant  Wales  returned  to  us  from  Parole 
Camp,  Annapolis,  having  been  exchanged.  They  received 
a  rousing  welcome,  and  were  serenaded  by  the  Glee  Club 
of  Company  K ;  all  were  glad  to  greet  them  personally, 
and  to  feel  that  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  made  whole  again. 
Captains  commanding  cannot  secure  the  respect  which  the 
men  readily  yield  to  a  field  officer ;  and,  in  various  ways, 
in  dealing  with  brigade  headquarters  and  the  department, 
a  regiment  with  full  field  and  staff  gets  more  attention. 
Promotions  had  occurred :  Captain  King  was  commissioned 
major  of  the  regiment ;  First  Lieutenants  Baldwin,  Preston, 
Hood  and  Blanchard  had  become  captains ;  Second  Lieu 
tenants  Hudson,  Stickney,  Ingell,  Blake  and  Burrell  had 
become  first  lieutenants ;  Sergeants  Gottlieb,  Wilkins,  Dean, 
Atkinson,  Floyd,  T.  D.  Hodges,  Dunbar,  Hawes  and  Mor- 
rill  were  commissioned  second  lieutenants;  but  these  latter, 
from  various  causes,  did  not  remain  long  on  duty  with  the 
regiment,  so  that  the  number  of  officers  present  continued 
limited.  Berry  was  sergeant-major;  Cutter,  quartermaster- 
sergeant;  and  Plummer,  commissary-sergeant,  with  Rice 
as  assistant.  Promotions  among  the  non-commissioned 
officers  were  also  very  numerous.  On  the  first  of  March 
Chaplain  Miller  preached  his  farewell  sermon  to  the  regi 
ment,  he  having  tendered  his  resignation.  Captains  An 
drews,  Pratt  and  Adjutant  Wales,  successively,  acted  as 
major  or  lieutenant-colonel. 

The  colonel  and  adjutant  at  once  commenced  work  upon 
the  drill  and  discipline  of  the  command.  The  officers  were 
schooled  by  the  colonel  in  tactics  and  battalion  movements. 
The  sergeants  were  thoroughly  drilled  in  the  manual  of 
arms  by  the  adjutant;  and  they,  in  squads,  set  up  the 
men  of  their  companies  with  an  effect  at  once  noticeable 
at  dress-parade.  The  regiment  became  so  expert  that 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  Io8 

General  Ferrero  rode  over  at  evening  to  witness  the  per 
formance,  which  was  as  well  timed  and  correct  as  the 
motion  of  a  perfect  machine.  Any  superiority  of  this 
kind  flatters  the  pride  of  the  men  in  their  regiment ;  we 
had  been  so  hardly  used  hitherto,  there  was  danger  of 
losing  the  esprit  de  corps  which  unites  soldiers  to  their 
colors  with  affection  superior  to  death.  Some  complained 
of  wasted  labor,  saying  that  no  rebel  force  was  ever  known 
to  be  frightened  by  such  an  exhibition,  however  excellent ; 
but  the  effect  above  stated  was  worth  the  trouble.  To 
offset  the  show,  the  officers,  notably  Lieutenant  Pope, 
drilled  their  companies  as  skirmishers,  with  the  bugle- 
calls,  and  in  the  bayonet  exercise.  Had  it  been  allowable 
to  expend  some  of  the  abundant  ammunition  in  target 
practice,  for  which  the  regiment  was  never  better  situated, 
the  employment  of  time  could  not  have  been  more  advan 
tageous.  But,  although  the  Government  had  adopted  rifled 
arms,  target  practice  was  never  encouraged ;  men  learned 
the  use  of  their  weapons  in  battle  or  by  stealth  ;  the  usual 
reason  given  for  the  interdict  was,  that  so  much  firing 
would  occasion  an  alarm,  which  was  generally  true  with 
us,  but  not  at  Newport  News. 

February  25,  there  was  a  grand  review  in  presence  of 
General  Dix  and  many  ladies  from  Fortress  Monroe. 
The  column  included  thirty -five  regiments  and  eight 
batteries. 

The  temperature  was  milder  than  at  Falmouth  —  we  had 
but  two  cold  snaps  with  snow  —  but  the  location  proved 
unhealthy,  owing  to  the  stirring  of  the  malarious  swamp 
in  rear,  when  cutting  the  wood  for  camp  purposes.  The 
embalming  agents  visited  camp,  and  set  up  their  machin 
ery  ;  but  we  preferred  to  be  excused  their  well-intentioned 
manipulations.  The  Eleventh  New  Hampshire,  robust 
looking  men,  but  who  had  not  in  childhood  been  through 


109  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

the  diseases  of  that  age,  suffered  seriously  from  what  was 
called  black  measles.  Typhoid  fever  took  from  among 
us  :  Zachariah  Damon,  of  Company  D ;  Charles  W.  Cole, 
of  Company  F;  Sergeant  David  K.  Hall  and  Corporal 
John  G.  Dymond,  of  Company  I.  Thus  this  ground,  like 
most  of  the  spots  upon  which  the  regiment  staid  any  length 
of  time,  was  marked  by  the  graves  of  some  of  our  number. 
The  funeral  ceremonies,  if  time  permitted,  were  in  military 
form,  with  beat  of  drum,  reversed  arms,  reading  of  scrip 
ture  and  the  parting  volley.  The  little  enclosing  fences 
and  head-boards  must  long  ago  have  gone  to  decay,  and 
the  rain  levelled  the  raised  earth ;  but  there  they  rest, 
along  the  line,  from  the  ocean  to  the  Mississippi.  Of  our 
dead,  also,  Longfellow's  lines  now  read  truly : 
"  'A  soldier  of  the  Union  mustered  out' 
Is  the  inscription  on  an  unknown  grave 
At  Newport  News,  beside  the  salt  sea  wave, 

Nameless  and  dateless, 

Thou  unknown  hero  sleeping  by  the  sea 
In  thy  forgotten  grave  !  with  secret  shame 
I  feel  my  pulses  beat,  my  forehead  burn 
When  I  remember,  thou  hast  given  for  me 
All  that  thou  hadst,  thy  life,  thy  very  name, 
And  I  can  give  thee  nothing  in  return." 

It  is  permitted  us  to  linger  over  these  memories  now,  but 
in  those  days  the  stern  duties  before  us  demanded  quick 
forgetfulness  of  the  past. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  March  the  Third  Division,  Getty's, 
formerly  Rodman's,  was  transferred  across  the  river,  and 
never  rejoined  the  corps.  General  Longstreet  came  down 
to  see  what  was  going  on,  and,  in  April,  Getty's  Division 
had  hard  fighting  at  Suffolk,  under  General  Peck.  Our 
movement  to  the  mouth  of  the  James  was  thought  by 
General  Lee  to  be  the  beginning  of  a  transfer  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  to  the  Peninsula.  The  Ninth  New  York, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  IIO 

Hawkins's  Zouaves,  remained  behind  as  a  provost-guard, 
and  formed  a  conspicuous  object  on  drill  in  front  of  our 
camp,  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  their  jaunty  uniforms,  full 
ranks  and  accurate  movements  exciting  our  admiration. 
The  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  and  Fifty-First  New  York 
moved  into  the  barracks  vacated  by  the  Third  Division. 
From  time  to  time  we  had  brigade  drills,  with  more  or 
less  —  rather  less  —  success. 

On  the  same  day  Captain  Lathrop,  who  had  been  dan 
gerously  ill  with  malarial  fever,  in  camp,  since  the  second, 
was  conveyed  to  the  steamboat  for  transfer  to  Philadelphia; 
he  recovered,  but  with  health  so  much  impaired  that  he 
was  obliged  to  resign,  and  he  never  rejoined  the  regiment. 
Captain  Cheever,  who  had  rejoined  after  Antietam,  found 
himself  unable  to  sustain  the  hardships  of  the  winter 
campaign,  and  did  not  again  serve  actively  with  the 
regiment. 

There  was  a  brigade  ball,  on  the  fourteenth,  on  board 
the  steamboat  City  of  Hudson,  in  commemoration  of  the 
victory  at  Newbern,  N.  C.,  with  ladies  present  from  For 
tress  Monroe,  the  only  festivity  of  the  kind  in  which  our 
officers  participated  while  in  the  service. 

On  Sunday,  the  fifteenth  of  March,  Dr.  MunselFs  father 
conducted  a  religious  service  with  the  regiment,  and 
preached  a  sermon  from  the  text,  "  What  I  do  now,  ye 
know  not ;  but  shall  know  hereafter " ;  the  musical  club 
furnished  the  psalmody. 

The  weeks  flew  swiftly  by.  Occasional  cannonading 
was  heard  across  the  river,  and  hints  were  thrown  out 
that  our  future  might  lie  in  that  direction.  We  were 
sitting,  as  it  were,  upon  the  very  door-step  of  Richmond, 
and  not  even  the  wildest  imagination  could  suggest  that, 
before  we  should  enter  that  city,  we  must  make  an  excur 
sion  to  the  far  West. 


Ill  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

After  an  easterly  storm,  with  snow,  on  the  twentieth, 
rumor  took  the  incredible  shape  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was 
to  be  sent  to  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  to  the  command 
of  which  General  Burnside  had  been  assigned.  It  seemed 
such  a  travesty  of  Greeley's  ''Go  West,  young  man!"  we 
doubted.  But,  on  the  twenty-fifth,  the  brigade  got  march 
ing  orders,  and  on  the  twenty-sixth  we  were  off,  after  a 
day  of  saturnalia,  while  waiting  amid  the  ruins  of  camp, 
after  the  tents  had  been  struck.  Many  will  remember 
Card's  antics  with  the  distracted  pedler's  tip-cart,  and  the 
mock  dress  parade  with  the  big  jug  for  colonel  and  the 
little  demijohnnie  for  adjutant.  We  embarked  on  the 
steamer  John  Brooks,  and  were  soon  on  the  way  up  Ches 
apeake  Bay,  leaving  the  grim  fortress  and  the  Peninsula 
behind,  with  faces  turned  to  distant  scenes  and  adventures. 
Captain  Dolan  resigned  just  before  departure,  and  Lieu 
tenant  Collins  was  so  much  injured  by  a  blow  from  a 
musket,  in  a  fracas  on  the  boat,  as  to  necessitate  leaving 
him  in  Baltimore  for  treatment ;  he  never  rejoined  the 
regiment. 

Landing  at  Baltimore,  about  noon  of  the  twenty-seventh, 
the  brigade  marched  across  the  city  to  the  north-west  rail 
road  station.  So  much  had  we  changed  since  our  first 
passage  through  these  streets  that  appearances,  which  had 
seemed  foreign  and  almost  hostile  then,  appeared  now 
homelike  and  friendly;  the  service  had  converted  us,  at 
least,  from  provincials  to  true  Union  men.  Our  usual 
luxurious  conveyances  —  box-cars  —  were  filled,  some  forty 
men  to  each.  Even  straw  was  provided  in  some,  to  prevent 
their  bones  wearing  holes  in  the  clothes  of  such  as  found 
room  to  stretch  out  at  length ;  packing  sardines  was  noth 
ing  to  it.  The  train  did  not  get  fairly  started  until  mid 
night  ;  and,  when  moving,  any  uncommonly  heavy  jolt 
would  be  followed  by  a  chorus  of  dashes  and  exclamation 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  112 

points.  In  the  morning  the  men  found  that  riding  upon 
the  car-tops  was  as  comfortable  as  within,  barring  the 
cinders  and  tunnels,  and  certainly  better  for  viewing  the 
scenery,  for  cattle  do  not  require  windows  in  their  cars. 
Those  were  merry  times,  passing  through  the  towns,  the 
boys  on  top  shouting  and  waving  caps  and  flags,  the 
citizens  rushing  to  doors  and  windows  to  respond,  small 
children  astonished  out  of  their  wits,  dogs  barking,  horses 
frightened,  and  a  lively  time  generally.  Travellers  upon 
the  country  roads  laughed  at  the  chaff  of  the  men,  and 
thought  the  train  bore  the  liveliest  freight  that  had  passed 
for  many  a  day.  Bound  for  the  Great  West,  what  cared 
we  ?  It  was  all  in  the  three  years'  enlistment ! 

The  route  lay,  on  the  twenty-eighth,  through  York,  Har- 
risburg  —  so  near  the  yet  unheard  of  fields  of  Gettysburg 
—  and  on,  by  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Railroad,  through 
Altoona  and  the  picturesque  mountain  scenery  of  Western 
Pennsylvania,  to  Pittsburg  on  the  twenty-ninth.  There 
was  snow  in  the  hill  country,  and  everything  was  bleak 
and  cold  compared  with  the  mild  climate  of  South-eastern 
Virginia  we  had  just  left.  At  some  of  the  towns  rye  coffee 
was  handed  in,  which  was  warming,  but  an  unpleasant 
substitute  for  real  coffee,  which  we  had  no  opportunity 
to  prepare.  At  Pittsburg  a  collation  was  generously  fur 
nished  by  the  citizens,  in  a  hall  adorned  with  flags  and 
mottoes.  We  became  sensible  of  our  terrible  appearance, 
when  some  of  the  ladies  of  the  city,  being  informed  that 
the  men  were  not  so  rough  in  manners  as  in  looks,  sum 
moned  courage  to  attend  upon  us.  As  we  had  not  seen 
ourselves  in  a  mirror  for  six  months,  a  first  view  was  com 
ically  surprising  —  was  it  possible  that  the  reflections  were 
correct  images  of  the  former  delicate  youths,  now  browned 
and  smoke  stained,  hirsute  and  thread-bare?  Yea,  verily; 
and  yet,  after  all,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  comfort  to  human 


113  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

nature  in  feeling  that  one  can  lie  in  the  dusty  road,  and 
get  as  begrimed  as  he  pleases,  without  shocking  the  pro 
prieties  of  his  associates.  Common  joys  and  common 
sorrows  made  us  one,  and  the  customs  and  costumes  of 
the  world  had  become  as  strange  to  us  as  we  to  them. 

Leaving  Pittsburg,  we  passed  across  the  State  of  Ohio, 
through  Columbus  and  Xenia,  to  Cincinnati.  The  snow 
was  left  behind,  ploughed  fields  appeared,  the  air  became 
more  spring-like ;  we  rapidly  moved  into  a  warmer  climate. 
Arriving  at  the  latter  city  at  7.30  P.  M.  of  the  thirtieth,  the 
troops  marched  to  the  Union  Market,  Fifth  Street,  and 
enjoyed  an  excellent  collation  furnished  by  the  ladies. 
Many  eastern  people  were  living  there  and  came  about, 
examining  the  ranks  for  friends,  and  the  greetings  and 
meetings  were  very  interesting  and  cordial,  though  the 
soldiers,  perhaps,  considered  it  fortunate  that  the  darkness 
of  evening  made  their  travel  stains  picturesque  rather  than 
offensive.  After  lunch,  the  brigade  crossed  the  Ohio  River 
to  Covington  in  Kentucky,  and  stacked  arms  in  the  street 
for  the  night.  The  boys,  finding  the  night  air  chill,  tore 
down  a  side  fence  and  soon  had  a  blaze  upon  the  pave 
ment,  rather  to  the  astonishment  of  the  citizens.  Unroll 
ing  blankets  the  men  lay  down  upon  the  sidewalks,  with 
heads  to  the  wall  and  feet  to  the  gutter,  and  found  the 
new  quarters,  at  least,  not  so  cramped  as  the  box-cars. 

Next  morning  (March  31)  Lieutenant  Ingell,  opening 
his  eyes  long  after  sunrise,  found  himself  the  observed 
of  all  observers  among  the  market  women  and  people 
passing  to  the  ferry  over  the  small  strip  of  the  sidewalk 
that  was  left  between  his  big  feet  and  the  curbstone. 
"  What ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  is  it  the  custom  in  this  great 
and  enlightened  West  for  ladies  to  promenade  thus  through 
a  gentleman's  bed-chamber  before  he  is  up  in  the  morn 
ing  ? "  Whereupon  he  roused  out,  and  made  his  toilet  by 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  114 

combing  his  moustache.  At  night,  quarters  were  provided 
in  halls  and  market  places. 

We  found  that  General  Burnside's  Department  included 
not  only  Ohio,  but  also  several  other  States  north  of  the 
Ohio  River  and  parts  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  After 
a  day's  waiting  for  orders,  our  division,  the  Second,  was 
assigned  to  Eastern  Kentucky ;  the  First  Division  went 
further  to  the  west,  into  Central  Kentucky,  about  Middle- 
burg  and  Columbia.  During  the  autumn  before  —  while 
we  were  in  Pleasant  Valley — Central  Kentucky  had  been 
the  scene  of  an  active  campaign  between  the  armies  of 
Generals  Buell  and  Bragg.  General  Kirby  Smith  had 
come  in  from  the  south-east  by  way  of  Cumberland  Gap, 
and  Bragg  had  entered  from  the  south  near  Columbia. 
The  movements  had  culminated  at  Perryville,  south-west 
of  Camp  Nelson,  where  the  Confederates  were  worsted, 
and  they  then  left  the  State.  While  we  were  at  Falmouth, 
General  Rosecrans,  succeeding  Buell,  had  fought  with 
Bragg's  army  the  sanguinary  battle  of  Stone's  River,  near 
Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  and  he  was  now  waiting  there 
until  the  railroads  could  be  completed  in  his  rear  before 
advancing  upon  Chattanooga.  Our  duty  was  to  be,  to 
help  block  the  road  to  any  repetition  of  the  operations  of 
the  previous  autumn,  and  to  assist  in  covering  the  railroad 
communications  of  Rosecrans.  We  were  also  to  discourage 
guerillas  and  prepare  for  a  campaign,  on  our  own  account, 
into  East  Tennessee,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Twenty- 
Third  Corps,  then  in  process  of  formation. 

Our  first  movement  was  by  rail,  on  April  i,  to  Paris,  in 
Bourbon  County — suggestive  name — where  camp  was 
located  on  the  fair  grounds.  The  commissary  began  to 
issue  hard  bread  of  the  Cincinnati  brand,  an  important 
event  to  us  whose  chief  article  of  food  it  was ;  for  this 
bread  was  so  superior  in  size,  flavor  and  edible  qualities 


115  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

that  its  appearance  must  be  reckoned  one  of  the  pleasant 
incidents  upon  our  arrival  in  the  West.  It  was  substantial 
evidence  that  the  war  was  here  conducted  upon  business 
principles  rather  than  by  routine.  Bacon-sides  were  issued 
in  place  of  pork,  but  were  not  quite  so  much  to  our  taste. 

The  people  about  us  were  found  to  be  about  evenly 
divided  between  Union  and  Confederate  sympathies,  the 
same  family  furnishing  members  to  both  causes.  Political 
contests  were  bitter,  and  often  not  confined  to  words  alone. 
The  officers  of  the  regiment  enjoyed  flirtation  with  the  fair 
Kentucky  belles,  and  many  a  gilt  button  was  exchanged 
for  a  smile  from  some  fair  one,  who  wanted  this  memento 
from  a  hero's  breast  to  pin  upon  her  own.  The  handsome 
captain  of  Company  G  lost  nearly  all  his  buttons  in  this  way. 

The  Kentucky  turnpikes  are  thoroughly  macadamized 
with  broken  limestone,  and  are  as  hard  as  rock,  which  we 
discovered  upon  our  first  march,  on  the  third,  from  Paris 
to  Mount  Sterling,  twenty-two  miles.  The  feet  of  the  men, 
accustomed  to  the  soft  mud  or  sand  of  our  late  camp 
grounds,  were  now  subjected  to  a  pounding  which  made 
them  swell  so  as  to  be  almost  disabled ;  it  was  hard  work 
for  the  sergeants  to  get  their  details  for  picket  that  night. 
Next  morning,  passing  through  the  town,  the  regiment 
went  into  camp  with  the  brigade  upon  one  of  those  admi 
rable  sites  which  can  hardly  be  equalled  outside  of  that 
beautiful  State.  The  blue-grass  sward  under  foot  was  thick 
and  close  as  a  lawn,  and  starred  with  spring  flowers ;  the 
trees  were  lofty,  symmetrical  and  overarching,  and  not  a 
particle  of  brush  or  undergrowth  was  there  to  mar  the 
park-like  appearance.  The  rail  fences  enclosing  the 
grounds  seemed  sacred  without  the  order  forbidding  their 
use  for  firewood ;  the  rails  were  often  of  handsome  black 
walnut.  The  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  was,  after  a  few 
days  in  camp,  moved  into  the  town  of  Mount  Sterling  to 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  Il6 

act  as  provost-guard ;  and  the  members  so  won  the  com 
mendation  of  the  townspeople  that  the  regiment  remained 
there  several  months,  while  the  rest  of  the  brigade  was 
upon  its  travels.  The  business  part  of  the  town  had  been 
raided  and  burned  a  short  time  before  our  arrival. 

Hitherto,  the  Thirty-Fifth  had  been  without  a  national 
color,  the  stars  and  stripes.  While  at  this  camp,  April  8, 
Major  William  S.  King  joined,  from  home,  bringing  a  fine 
silk  flag ;  he  received  a  cordial  welcome,  and  was  serenaded 
by  the  glee  club  and  brigade  band.  It  was  remarkable 
that  when  we  had  last  seen  him  he  was  being  carried 
from  the  field  at  Antietam  with  our  blue  silk  flag  in 
charge ;  now  he  reappeared,  unable  yet  from  wounds  to 
take  the  field,  but  still  flag  in  hand.  The  new  color  was 
sent  from  Boston  by  Colonel  Wild,  and  was  his  last 
memento  to  the  regiment.  Major  King,  soon  afterwards 
promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel,  was  made  chief-of-staff  of 
the  Second  Division  until  July  i,  when  he  was  appointed 
Provost-Marshal  General  of  Kentucky,  and,  subsequently, 
in  August,  Military  Commandant  of  the  District  of  Lex 
ington.  From  the  last  duty  he  was  relieved,  April  5,  1864, 
and  ordered  to  Boston,  as  superintendent  of  recruiting 
service  in  Massachusetts,  which  position  he  held  until 
commissioned  colonel  of  the  Fourth  Massachusetts  Heavy 
Artillery  Regiment.  On  account  of  his  disability  after 
Antietam,  the  men  in  the  ranks  of  the  regiment  saw  little 
of  him  ;  but  no  officer  took  a  deeper  interest  in  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  or  its  men,  wherever  he  met  them,  than  Colonel 
King.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  brevetted  brigadier- 
general. 

Reports  reached  headquarters  of  suspicious  characters 
lurking  about  the  neighborhood,  and  Adjutant  Wales,  with 
Lieutenant  Hatch  and  twenty-five  volunteers,  went  in  pur 
suit,  on  the  twelfth,  capturing  two  men  belonging  to  Hum- 


1 17  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

phrey  Marshall's  cavalry,  whom  they  turned  over  to  the 
provost-marshal.  A  raid,  on  a  larger  scale,  was  made 
(thirteenth  and  fourteenth)  by  the  Fifty-First  New  York 
and  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  to  a  place  called  Sharps- 
burg,  about  sixteen  miles  out,  after  guerillas.  They  were 
gone  a  day,  and  returned  with  twenty  citizens  and  thirty 
horses. 

One  of  the  vexations  of  the  service  was  the  long  delay, 
after  orders  to  march,  before  the  actual  start.  In  excep 
tional  cases,  the  order  to  "pack  up  and  be  ready  to  march 
in  half  an  hour"  was  fulfilled  according  to  the  programme, 
but  more  often  the  order  came  for  preparation  at  some 
unseasonable  time,  at  evening  or  midnight;  there  would 
be  half  an  hour  of  haste,  all  would  be  ready,  then  would 
follow  hours  or  days  of  waiting  for  the  momentarily  ex 
pected  command  to  "fall  in."  It  was  the  uncomfortable 
result  of  the  transmission  of  orders  through  the  corps, 
division  and  brigade  headquarters  to  the  regiment.  The 
lesson  of  patience  is  thus  well  learned  by  the  soldier ; 
high  resolve  and  self-sacrificing  spirit  sustain  him  at  the 
start,  but,  after  experiencing  the  countless  irritations  of 
army  discipline,  it  all  settles  down  finally  into  a  dogged 
determination  to  hang  on  and  endure  all  things.  So  on 
the  sixteenth  the  regiment  was  packed  up  all  night,  in 
order  to  get  off  at  the  hour  of  four  the  next  morning  1 
Such  things  are  easily  borne  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy, 
but  in  such  a  place  as  we  then  were  the  unnecessary  loss 
of  sleep  made  the  men  angry. 

The  march  of  eighteen  miles  was  westward  to  Winchester, 
a  pretty  village,  where  we  camped  upon  another  of  those 
charming  park- like  grounds,  remaining  two  weeks.  The 
paymaster  made  his  welcome  visit  on  the  eighteenth,  and, 
in  his  wake,  gathered  shoals  of  pedlers,  with  country 
produce,  chicken  and  squirrel  pies,  fancy  biscuits  and 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  Il8 

roasted  geese,  the  best  of  Old  Kentucky  viands ;  the  boys 
did  not  go  hungry.  A  new  sutler  appeared,  one  Gostoffer, 
a  careful  man,  but  one  not  wise  to  attach  his  fortunes  to 
such  a  peripatetic  organization.  He  did  not  get  all  that 
the  paymaster  left,  for  the  colonel  rode  over  to  Lexington 
and  expressed  home,  to  the  families  of  the  members  of 
the  regiment,  the  goodly  sum  of  $12,000  of  their  pay. 
Allotment  rolls  were  prepared  and  sent  to  Massachusetts, 
by  which  a  portion  of  the  pay  of  the  men  was  made  over 
directly  to  families  from  the  paymaster  there,  and  risk  of 
loss  by  mail  or  express  avoided. 

The  trim  surroundings  affected  the  men,  and  their  per 
sonal  appearance  received  extra  care ;  even  the  paper 
collar  appeared,  a  certain  indication  of  soft  times,  and 
Sunday  church-going  became  quite  a  matter  of  course. 
General  Sturgis  reviewed  the  Second  Brigade,  and,  as 
part  of  the  ceremony,  marched  us  through  the  town, 
battery  and  all,  making  a  fine  pageant.  Tableaux  were 
presented  in  town,  for  the  benefit  of  the  hospitals,  in 
which  the  glee  club  took  part,  singing  "Joys  that  we've 
tasted,"  "Lovely  Night,"  and  other  airs,  with  frequent 
applause.  Evening  dress-parades  and  Sunday  inspections 
were  executed  with  the  "snap"  and  punctiliousness  our 
late  drill  had  taught.  It  was  the  first  camp  in  which  the 
Thirty-Fifth  enacted  the  part  of  a  "  crack  "  regiment,  in 
the  presence  of  admiring  spectators  and  lady  friends.  On 
the  twenty-seventh  of  April,  Major  King,  Adjutant  Wales, 
Lieutenant  Hatch  and  twenty-five  men  went  upon  a  scout, 
but  returned  unsuccessful  —  the  birds  had  flown. 

Pickets  and  guards  were  distributed  through  the  country 
about  camp,  for  Morgan's  cavalry  was  a  quickly  moving 
body,  and  a  certain  amount  of  watchfulness  had  to  be 
maintained  even  in  these  peaceful  scenes.  A  pleasing 
trick  of  the  men  —  to  secure  some  of  the  coveted  whiskey 


119  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

with  which  that  district  of  Kentucky  abounded  —  was 
for  the  picket  to  arrange  with  some  colored  brother  to 
fetch  a  jug  of  the  corn-juice  to  an  appointed  place,  where 
the  greenbacks  would  be  present  and  the  officers  absent, 
carefully  warning  him  to  beware  of  the  provost-guard ; 
thereupon  a  volunteer  provost,  of  duly  informed  friends 
from  camp,  were,  by  a  remarkable  coincidence,  sure  to 
pounce  upon  the  victim  at  the  appointed  spot,  and,  with 
hearts  as  hard  as  adamant,  sure  to  confiscate  the  ardent, 
to  the  countryman's  dismay.  The  jug  would  be  borne  to 
camp  in  an  innocent  looking  sack,  to  await  the  return  of 
the  pickets ;  but,  alas !  sometimes  the  jug  mysteriously 
leaked,  while  waiting,  and  the  thirsty  pickets  found  them 
selves  as  badly  gulled  as  their  sable  friend.  It  used  to  be 
said  that  certain  old  lovers  of  whiskey,  as  soon  as  tents 
were  pitched  upon  new  ground,  could  strike  a  bee-line  for 
the  nearest  supply  with  unfailing  certainty. 

Colonel  Wild  was  promoted  to  the  grade  of  brigadier- 
general,  to  date  April  25 ;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Carruth 
succeeded  to  the  vacancy.  Captain  Andrews  resigned, 
after  constant  service  with  the  regiment,  having  succeeded 
to  command,  as  senior  captain,  in  two  battles,  and,  also, 
during  several  months  in  camp,  in  the  unavoidable  absence 
of  his  superiors.  Adjutant  Wales  sent  in  his  resignation 
on  the  twenty-fourth;  but,  at  the  colonel's  solicitation, 
withdrew  it.  First  Lieutenant  Park  was,  soon  after, 
commissioned  captain,  Second  Lieutenant  Pope,  first 
lieutenant,  and  Sergeants  Meserve  and  Tobey,  second 
lieutenants.  The  medical  staff  suffered  an  entire  change: 
Surgeon  Lincoln  and  Assistant  Surgeons  Munsell  and 
Clark  resigning,  and  Surgeon  Snow,  who  joined  here,  suc 
ceeding,  with  Assistant  Surgeon  Roche  in  July.  Alfred 
Williams  became  our  ever -faithful  hospital  steward. 
There  was  a  little  fun  at  regimental  headquarters  over 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  I2O 

this  appointment  of  a  steward.  The  future  wearer  of 
the  golden  "caduceus,"  as  unassuming  a  man  as  could 
be  found  in  the  regiment,  was  summoned  to  the  colonel's 
tent,  unwarned  of  what  was  in  store  for  him ;  there  he 
found  the  colonel  and  Surgeon  Snow,  with  grave  faces, 
in  deep  cogitation  over  a  sealed  envelope,  which,  in  fact, 
contained  the  warrant  of  appointment.  After  some  words 
from  the  officers  upon  the  sternness  of  the  requirements 
of  discipline,  the  victim,  whose  countenance  the  while 
expressed  every  degree  of  astonishment  and  mortification, 
was  informed  that  the  envelope,  which  was  handed  to  him, 
contained  certain  charges  against  him,  and  that  he  might 
retire  to  his  quarters  and  prepare  his  defence.  Somewhat 
dazed  he  departed,  but  soon  returned,  having  discovered 
the  point  of  the  joke  upon  tearing  the  cover,  and  with 
beaming  face,  amid  a  general  laugh,  expressed  his  will 
ingness  to  answer  the  charge,  and  do  honor  to  the 
appointment,  by  the  exercise  of  his  utmost  skill,  then 
and  thereafter,  upon  any  of  the  group  who  might  desire 
an  amputation,  blue  pill  or  dose  of  castor  oil. 

Quartermaster  Upton  suffered  a  broken  arm  by  a  fall 
from  a  strange  horse,  and,  while  he  was  laid  up,  Lieu 
tenant  Hawes  was  appointed  to  act  in  his  place.  An 
order  assigning  the  officers,  present  and  absent,  was  issued 
as  follows : 

Company  A  —  Captain,  S.  H.  Andrews,  succeeded  by 
Captain  E.  G.  Park ;  first  lieutenant,  J.  W.  Ingell ;  second 
lieutenant,  Joseph  Gottlieb. 

Company  B  —  Captain,  C.  A.  Blanchard;  first  lieutenant, 
Gamaliel  Hodges ;  second  lieutenant,  N.  W.  Collins. 

Company  C  —  Captain,  T.  P.  Cheever ;  first  lieutenant, 
F.  B.  Mirick ;  second  lieutenant,  J.  S.  Tobey. 

Company  D  —  Captain  ;  first  lieutenant,  John 

W.  Hudson ;  second  lieutenant,  T.  D.  Hodges. 


121  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Company  E  —  Captain,  D.  J.  Preston;  first  lieutenant, 
J.  B.  Stickney ;  second  lieutenant,  M.  B.  Hawes. 

Company  F  —  Captain,  S.  C.  Oliver;  first  lieutenant, 
A.  Hatch ;  second  lieutenant,  A.  Floyd. 

Company  G  —  Captain,  William  Gibson  ;  first  lieutenant, 
William  Washburn,  Jr. ;  second  lieutenant, . 

Company  H  —  Captain,  B.  F.  Pratt ;  first  lieutenant, 
George  P.  Lyons ;  second  lieutenant,  J.  W.  Dean. 

Company  I  —  Captain,  John  Lathrop  ;  first  lieutenant, 
Oliver  Burrell ;  second  lieutenant, . 

Company  K  —  Captain,  E.  G.  Hood;  first  lieutenant, 
A.  A.  Pope ;  second  lieutenant,  W.  N.  Meserve. 

Some  of  these  officers  temporarily  served  in  different 
companies  from  the  above,  in  the  absence  of  the  per 
manent  officers.  The  brigade  at  this  time  was  commanded 
by  Colonel  Hartranft,  of  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania. 

On  the  fourth  of  May  the  command  began  the  march 
to  the  south  side  of  the  Kentucky  River,  averaging  about 
fifteen  miles  travel  each  day.  The  following  is  a  brief 
itinerary :  May  4,  inarched  at  8  A.  M.  to  within  seven  miles 
of  Lexington ;  wet  day ;  camp  near  a  brook.  May  5, 
marched  at  7  A.  M.  through  Lexington  and  five  miles 
beyond ;  showers ;  camped  near  a  brick  church  on  the 
left  of  the  road.  May  6,  marched  at  7  A.  M.  through 
Nicholasville,  by  the  site  of  the  future  Camp  Nelson, 
across  the  Kentucky  River  at  Hickman's  Bridge  —  sur 
rounded  by  fine,  almost  sublime  scenery  —  and  went  into 
camp  in  the  mud  upon  a  hill  near  some  log  cabins ;  rained 
all  night.  May  7,  roads  muddy;  through  Camp  Dick 
Robinson  to  Lancaster,  and  camped  on  a  hill  side.  May 
8,  cloudy ;  marched  at  8  A.  M.  ;  road,  hilly  and  rough ; 
camp  at  Paint  Lick  Creek,  near  a  fine  spring ;  the  place 
is  also  called  Lowell.  May  9,  cleaning  up  and  inspection. 
May  10,  reveille  at  5  A.  M.  ;  marched  at  eight  back  to  Lan- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  122 

caster.  We  always  camped  in  the  south  or  south-east 
suburbs  of  the  places  near  which  we  were  posted ;  that 
being  the  direction  from  which  raids  were  anticipated. 

Our  way  on  this  journey  lay  through  the  paradise  of 
nature  about  Lexington,  in  the  month  of  flowers,  and  the 
hot  sun  and  heavy  knapsacks  were  forgotten  in  admiration  of 
that  charming  rural  country.  When  passing  through  towns 
column  was  formed,  company  or  platoon  front,  and,  with 
drums  beating  and  colors  displayed,  we  did  our  best  to 
impress  upon  the  natives  our  soldierly  character  and  war 
like  disposition  to  defend  the  defenceless  and  carry  woe 
to  the  foeman.  What  a  gallant  show  our  heroes  made  on 
such  occasions !  At  the  crossing  of  the  Kentucky  River 
the  weather  was  rainy,  the  dust  upon  the  hard  road  became 
a  thin  skim  of  mud,  which  penetrated  the  shoes,  worn  by 
the  grinding  rock,  and  cut  and  galled  the  feet  badly.  An 
army  brogan,  made  in  imitation  of  a  moccasin  for  use  on 
soft  prairie  land,  was  not  stiff  enough  in  the  sole  for  such 
work,  and  gave  out  after  a  few  days'  wear.  The  quarter 
master,  however,  found  such  easy  hauling  for  the  teams 
that,  contrary  to  his  usual  gentle  negative,  when  offered  a 
foot-sore  man's  pack  to  carry  he  even  smiled  upon  such 
applicants,  and  answered,  "  Oh  yes,  pile  them  on ;  if  they 
will  stick,  the  mules  will  pull  them  all !  " 

This  reminds  us  that  we  have  not  yet  mentioned  that 
useful  masked  battery,  the  army  mule,  for  whom  all  men 
in  the  ranks  had  a  fellow  feeling  —  his  treatment  and  that 
of  the  common  soldier  were  so  much  alike  ;  each  was 
expected  to  have  endless  endurance,  and  to  be  willing  to 
take  any  amount  of  punishment  without  flinching.  His 
cheerful  voice  was  the  accompaniment  of  our  dreams, 
"haw-he!  haw-he!  haw-he!"  a  sound,  when  first  heard, 
so  strange  as  to  strike  the  hearer  dumb  with  terror.  But 
the  boys  soon  learned  that  it  was  the  signal  of  trains  with 


123  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

supplies,  and  welcomed  it  as  the  most  melodious  of  voices. 
If  the  doctrine  of  the  transmigration  of  souls  were  true, 
what  sinners  those  mules  must  have  been  in  the  former 
stages  of  their  existence  ! 

At  Lancaster  the  colonel  was,  if  possible,  more  exacting 
than  ever;  nothing  could  suit  him  which  was  not  done  on 
time  or  at  the  double-quick.  Coming  back  from  Paint 
Lick  special  stress  was  laid  upon  falling  out;  the  men  kept 
the  ranks  and  files  perfectly,  and  the  ten  miles  were  paced 
off  at  a  rate  by  the  watch,  which  gave  even  him  satisfaction. 
Drills  were  in  quick  time  or  the  double-quick.  Shelter 
tents  were  struck,  knapsacks  packed,  line  formed,  the 
regiment  countermarched,  company  streets  laid  out  anew 
and  tents  up  again  —  all  in  the  space  of  twenty  minutes. 
In  truth,  and  without  exaggeration,  the  Thirty-Fifth  had 
at  this  time,  under  efficient  tutelage,  become  a  model 
regiment  in  drill,  discipline,  dress,  and  arrangement  of 
camp.  General  Sturgis,  accompanied  by  his  staff,  after 
viewing  one  of  the  parades  of  the  regiment,  remarked, 
"That  beats  the  regulars!"  The  thorough  instruction 
then  received  was  never  forgotten ;  but,  through  whatever 
hardships  the  men  passed,  when  better  times  came  around 
a  few  days  of  favorable  surroundings  quickly  re§tored  the 
regiment  to  its  high  standard. 

Kentucky,  being  loyal,  was  not  affected  by  the  Eman 
cipation  Proclamation,  and  still  continued  to  be  a  slave 
State  ;  naturally,  the  runaway  slaves  sought  service  in  the 
army  as  attendants  upon  officers.  General  Burnside  issued 
an  order,  forbidding  officers  or  men  "to  impede  the  service 
of  civil  process  having  in  view  the  recovery  of  slaves  of 
citizens  of  the  State,  to  abet  their  escape,  or  employ  them 
against  the  consent  of  owners."  This  was  an  offset  to  his 
famous  order,  containing  the  words,  "  It  must  be  distinctly 
understood  that  treason,  expressed  or  implied,  will  not  be 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  124 

tolerated  in  this  department."  A  negro  boy,  called  "Mace," 
had  attached  himself  to  our  regiment,  and  a  frequent  call 
from  the  officers'  tents  was,  "  Mace  !  Mace  !  where  is,  that 
d — d  Mace ! "  One  day  a  person,  claiming  to  be  his  owner, 
came  upon  the  ground,  and  at  headquarters  was  invited  to 
inspect  the  camp  in  quest  of  his  delinquent  chattel.  Of 
course,  Mace  was  as  scarce  as  usual ;  the  trembling  wretch, 
knowing  where  the  softest  heart  beat,  albeit  under  the 
roughest  exterior,  lay  hid  under  Lieutenant  IngelPs  bed, 
upon  which  reposed  the  massive  frame  of  its  owner.  In 
due  course,  the  claimant  lifted  the  flap  of  the  tent  and 
looked  in ;  no  negro  was  visible,  but  Ingell  reclined  there, 
revolver  in  hand,  with  all  the  ferocity  of  expression  he 
could  summon  flashing  from  his  eyes,  one  glance  of  which 
was  sufficient  to  satisfy  the  hunter  that,  whether  the  prey 
was  there  or  not,  it  would  be  better  not  to  disturb  such  a 
couchant  lion  ;  and  he  retired  without  discovering  the 
ebony.  Ingell  subjected  himself  to  the  danger  of  arrest 
and  punishment,  but  when  did  the  dear  old  boy  ever 
estimate  personal  consequences  when  his  sympathies  were 
appealed  to  by  any  one !  He  is  said  to  have  remarked 
that  "  no  one,  whether  from  heaven  or  hell,  could  search 
that  tent ! "  It  is  to  be  remembered,  also,  that  this  was 
in  the  heart  of  Old  Kentucky,  the  home  of  Mrs.  Stowe's 
"Uncle  Tom,"  and  every  dark  skin  in  distress  seemed 
entitled  to  claim  kinship  with  that  old  hero. 

At  Lancaster  the  turnpike  divides.  The  road  to  the 
south-east  passes  through  Crab  Orchard  to  Cumberland 
Gap,  becoming  rougher  and  wilder  as  it  proceeds.  The 
road  to  the  south  leads  to  Stanford  and  Somerset,  near 
Mill  Springs — the  scene  of  General  Thomas's  victory  over 
Zollicoffer  —  and  traverses  a  more  settled  country  upon 
the  Cumberland  River;  both  roads,  however,  terminate 
in  East  Tennessee.  It  was  to  be  our  fortune  in  the  future 


125  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

to  go  to  Tennessee  by  the  first  route  and  return  by  the 
second ;  at  present,  however,  we  took  but  a  step  upon 
each^ 

On  the  twenty-third  of  May,  the  brigade  left  Lancaster 
for  Crab  Orchard,  some  twelve  miles,  over  very  dusty 
roads,  stopping  over  Sunday  upon  the  banks  of  Dick's 
River,  a  bright,  clear  stream,  in  which  the  boys  enjoyed 
a  welcome  bath.  Camp  had  hardly  been  laid  out  on 
Monday  evening,  at  Crab  Orchard,  when  an  unexpected 
summons  came  to  proceed  at  once  to  Stanford.  The 
distance  was  only  a  dozen  miles,  but  the  cross-road  was 
deep  with  dust,  which  rose  in  suffocating  clouds,  making 
the  night  darker  and  marching  irksome,  so  that  the  men 
reached  Stanford  in  a  charming  state  of  ill  temper.  Camps 
were  passed  all  along,  rather  to  our  surprise,  for  up  to  this 
time  we  had  met  no  troops  other  than  the  Ninth  Corps. 

Preparations  were  making  at  Stanford  for  a  grand  advance 
of  all  the  forces  into  East  Tennessee,  by  this  road  through 
Somerset.  Meanwhile,  we  camped  quietly  on  one  of  those 
charming  lawns,  this  time  almost  under  the  eaves  of  a 
mansion  house,  in  which  the  officers'  messes  obtained  lux 
urious  fare,  with  even  an  imp  of  darkness  to  keep  the  flies 
from  their  elevated  noses  with  a  peacock-feather  brush. 
The  enlisted  men,  whom  the  increasing  warmth  of  summer 
affected  with  a  desire  for  something  lighter  than  the  stand 
ard  bacon  sides  and  hard  bread,  sought  a  change  of  food 
at  the  tables  of  hospitable  citizens  for  a  modest  consider 
ation.  In  short,  it  began  to  be  evident  that  we  were 
waxing  fat  enough  to  kill.  Take  a  sample  from  Company 
H  :  "  Ho,  there,  James ! "  called  the  sergeant,  "  you  are 
detailed  for  picket !  "  "  Picket,  sergeant,  picket !  why,  I 
ca-a-n't  go,  sergeant ;  I  ca-a-n't  go  !  "  "  Ca-a-n't  go  ;  why 
not  ?  "  "  Why,  I  ca-a-n't  go,  sergeant,  I  haven't  had  my 
coffee ! " 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  126 

While  here  a  slave  auction  occurred  in  town ;  a  woman 
and  twin  boys  of  eleven  years  were  sold.  The  woman 
brought  four  hundred  and  five  dollars ;  the  boys  were  bid 
off  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  and  three  hundred  and  five 
dollars.  This  took  place  while  the  provost-guard  in  the 
place  was  Company  C,  under  Lieutenant  Tobey,  from  the 
patriotic  city  of  Chelsea,  from  directly  under  the  shadow 
of  the  State  House  of  that  abolition  State,  Massachusetts, 
and  not  a  word  or  act  of  remonstrance  !  Clearly  the  habit 
of  obedience  to  orders  without  question  was  becoming 
deeply  impressed,  and,  perhaps,  upon  a  nearer  view  of  the 
"  institution  "  it  appeared  less  repulsive,  especially  when 
compared  with  the  condition  of  an  enlisted  man  in  the 
ranks. 

While  the  regiment  was  out  on  skirmish  drill  one  after 
noon,  General  Ferrero  came  riding  by  in  his  usual  dashing, 
McClellan  style,  and  announced  that  his  commission  as 
brigadier- general  had  been  confirmed.  He  seemed  highly 
pleased  to  return  to  the  brigade,  and  the  men  received 
him  with  loud  hurrahs,  for  it  was  always  pleasant  to  see 
accustomed  faces  back  in  their  old  places.  Lieutenant 
T.  D.  Hodges  left  the  regiment  to  accept  promotion  in 
General  Wild's  African  Brigade. 

Orders  were  received  to  have  eight  days'  rations  con 
stantly  on  hand  —  five  in  knapsack,  three  in  haversack  — 
and  all  overcoats  and  superfluous  clothing  to  be  sent  back 
to  Camp  Nelson,  in  view  of  a  forced  march  into  East 
Tennessee ;  but,  here  again,  fate  had  other  things  in  store 
for  us  before  we  should  cross  the  Cumberland.  The  cus 
tomary  command,  "  Pack  up  and  be  ready  to  march  imme 
diately,"  reached  us  late  in  the  afternoon  of  June  3,  while 
the  regiment  was  on  battalion  drill ;  and,  as  if  there  was 
an  attack  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood,  we  seized  our 
luggage,  fell  in  and  moved  out  upon  the  road  at  a  quick 


127  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

pace  —  the  attack  to  be  met  was  only  about  nine  hundred 
miles  away  by  the  route  to  be  travelled.  The  head  of  column 
turned  north  instead  of  south,  and  then  curiosity  was  highly 
excited  to  know  "where  we  were  bound  "  ;  the  only  reply 
was  "  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  or  Vicksburg,  it  is  not 
known  which  " ;  and  it  was  not  until  next  day  that  word 
was  passed  along  the  line  that  we  were  bound  for  Vicks 
burg —  Vicksburg!  Hades  rather!  —  the  place,  the  cli 
mate,  and  the  warfare  thereabouts  had  at  that  time  the 
reputation  associated  with  the  fiery  pit  of  Gehenna.  Gen 
eral  Grant  was  besieging  Vicksburg  and  needed  more  force ; 
we  were  to  be  lent  to  him  for  a  time. 

We  kept  on  the  road  until  one  in  the  morning;  then 
turned  into  a  church-yard  for  a  short  nap  upon  the  un- 
mown  grass.  At  sunrise  we  were  up  and  on  again,  and 
all  day  until  four  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  reached  Nich- 
olasville,  thirty-four  miles  in  twenty-two  hours,  including 
halts  for  rest  —  no  joke  to  a  soldier  marching  in  close 
ranks,  under  a  hot  sun,  weighted  with  arms  and  knapsack. 
It  seemed  as  if  the  spirit  of  Grant  had  seized  us  at  the 
very  start,  to  show  how  inarches  were  to  be  made  when 
he  should  grasp  the  reins.  At  Nicholasville,  while  the 
baggage  was  being  loaded,  a  locomotive  exploded.  Among 
the  men  injured  was  John  Leverett,  of  Company  C,  who 
was  so  severely  scalded  that  he  died  next  day. 

Crowding  into  the  box  cars  at  9  P.  M.,  foot-sore  and  dusty, 
we  selected  the  least  uncomfortable  position  attainable, 
and,  speeding  all  night  along  the  rails,  were  crossing  the 
river  into  Cincinnati  at  ten  o'clock  next  morning.  Arms 
were  stacked  in  the  street  near  the  Sanitary  Commission 
Rooms,  while  waiting  for  food  and  transportation,  and  the 
men  were  plied  with  attentions  by  the  hospitable  citizens. 
Hot  dinners  were  offered ;  oranges  were  distributed  ;  small 
boys  were  started  at  a  run  with  pails  of  foaming  beer  to 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  128 

try  how  far  they  could  get  among  the  men  before  their 
cargo  was  captured ;  altogether  it  was  a  festive  time. 
Mirth  and  fun  grew  fast  and  furious,  for  we  were  bound 
for  Vicksburg ;  and  the  soldier  drowns  care  of  the  future 
in  present  joy.  At  night  we  were  again  packed  in  the  box 
cars  upon  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Railroad,  and  were 
traversing  the  broad  cornfields  of  Indiana,  passing  through 
Seymour  and  Mitchell,  and  over  the  bridge  across  the 
Wabash  at  Vincennes. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

MIDSUMMER  IN  MISSISSIPPI — VICKSBURG  AND  JACKSON,  1863. 

ON  the  sixth  of  June  we  were  crossing  the  State  of 
Illinois,  the  level  country  stretching  out  like  an 
ocean  to  the  horizon.  Men  on  the  car-tops  practised 
shooting  on  the  wing  at  the  pigs  in  the  groves  beside  the 
track,  until  it  was  found  that  the  sport  was  growing  into  a 
general  fusillade  and  had  to  be  stopped.  Warm  greetings 
were  extended  to  the  troops  by  the  inhabitants  all  along 
the  route.  At  one  station  the  ladies  were  more  than 
usually  attractive  and  very  demonstrative  in  waving  their 
white  handkerchiefs.  Attracted  by  a  flutter  in  the  rear 
of  the  officers'  car,  the  colonel  found  Lieutenants  Hatch 
and  Washburn  vigorously  shaking  in  the  air  a  gray  blanket 
of  the  largest  size.  "What's  this,  what's  this,  gentlemen?" 
"Oh,"  replied  Hatch,  "don't  you  comprehend?  there  are 
the  ladies ;  here  are  we ;  this  is  the  regimental  pocket- 
handkerchief —  long  may  it  wave  !  " 

At  Sandoval  we  changed  direction  from  due  west  to 
south,  taking  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  While  waiting 
for  the  train  in  the  afternoon,  the  colonel  —  to  take  the 
cramps  out  of  us  and  keep  all  hands  from  mischief  — 
ordered  a  battalion  drill.  Perhaps  the  smooth,  seemingly 
limitless  prairie  offered  a  field  for  the  exercise  too  oppor 
tune  to  be  neglected.  The  men  groaned,  but  were  soon 
at  work,  changing  direction,  forming  in  mass,  etc.,  on  the 
broadest  parade-ground  ever  occupied.  At  Centralia,  in  the 


130  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

evening,  pans  of  hot  beef-steaks  were  passed  into  the  cars, 
and  devoured  as  ravenously  as  by  the  animals  in  a  men 
agerie  —  a  name,  by  the  way,  which  the  Richmond  papers 
adopted  in  mentioning  the  Ninth  Corps,  "  Burnside's  Trav 
elling  Menagerie." 

In  the  morning  of  June  7  we  were  at  the  jumping-off 
place  —  Cairo  —  disembarking  from  the  cars  upon  the 
levee,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  This  town,  like  the 
land  of  Egypt  from  which  it  derives  its  name,  is  subject 
to  overflows,  against  which  the  citizens  guard  their  lands 
by  broad  dykes,  upon  which  the  streets  are  laid  out,  giving 
the  place  a  unique  appearance,  and,  at  least  at  the  time 
we  saw  it,  entitling  it  to  the  name  of  the  biggest  mud-hole 
we  had  met  with  up  to  date.  The  cooks  built  fires  upon 
the  river  bank  and  put  the  salt-pork  on  to  boil,  while  the 
men  bathed  in  the  tepid  waters  of  the  Ohio,  diving  off  the 
great  coal  barges.  Tents  were  pitched  for  one  night  along 
the  muddy  levee.  The  immense  steamboat  Imperial,  with 
decks  tier  above  tier,  was  assigned  to  transport  General 
Ferrero  and  staff,  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire,  Ben 
jamin's  Battery,  "  E,"  Second  United  States  Artillery  and 
our  regiment,  and  late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  eighth  we 
were  on  board,  with  a  mass  of  freight,  and  swung  with  the 
current  out  of  the  Ohio  upon  the  broad  Mississippi,  whose 
winding  course  we  were  to  follow  for  some  five  hundred 
miles. 

The  great  river,  the  Father  of  Waters,  is  impressive 
only  when  we  consider  its  volume,  the  great  distance  it 
flows,  and  the  vast  extent  of  country  which  its  branches 
water.  Like  many  other  marvels,  a  partial  view  is  tame 
and  ineffective.  The  banks  are  but  little  elevated  above 
the  water,  arid  stretch  off  interminably,  for  the  most  part 
still  clothed  with  forest,  the  soil  of  blue  clay  or  sand,  with 
occasional  banks  of  red  or  yellow  earth.  The  stream 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  131 

meanders  about  so  that  in  some  of  its  windings  it  is 
difficult  to  tell  whether  a  steamboat,  of  which  the  smoke 
may  be  visible  over  the  trees,  is  coming  up  or  following 
down.  But  as  we  keep  on  day  after  day,  and  think  that, 
after  all,  we  are  traversing  but  a  small  portion  of  its  course, 
we  begin  to  appreciate  the  majesty  of  the  great  river : 

"  Far  down  the  beautiful  river, 

Past  the  Ohio  shore,  and  past  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash, 
Into  the  golden  stream  of  the  broad  and  swift  Mississippi ; 
Onward  o'er  sunken  sands,  through  a  wilderness  sombre  with  forest, 
Day  after  day  they  glided  adown  the  turbulent  river ; 
Now  through  rushing  chutes,  among  green  islands, .where  plume-like 
Cotton  woods  nodded  their  shadowy  crests,  they  swept  with  the 

current, 

Then  emerged  into  broad  lagoons,  where  silvery  sand  bars 
Lay  in  the  stream." 

The  names  of  places,  then  familiar  to  readers  of  the 
war  news,  served  as  mile-posts  to  mark  our  descent : 
Columbus,  with  General  Folk's  old  fortifications,  where 
we  ran  aground  and  stuck  all  night ;  Belmont,  opposite, 
where  General  Grant  made  his  first  essay  in  the  war; 
Island  Number  10,  which  we  passed  on  the  ninth,  the 
scene  of  General  Pope's  victory ;  Memphis,  reached  on 
the  tenth,  famous  for  its  gun-boat  fight;  Helena,  where 
we  hitched  up  to  the  bank  on  the  twelfth,  which  was, 
within  a  few  weeks  after  our  visit,  to  be  attacked  and 
bravely  defended ;  Milliken's  Bend,  on  the  thirteenth,  and 
other  places  —  at  first,  the  states  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas 
on  the  west,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  on  the  east,  and 
now,  as  we  approach  our  goal,  Louisiana  on  the  west  and 
Mississippi  on  the  east. 

Events  on  board  were  few,  and  card  playing  was  resorted 
to  by  many  for  amusement.  The  paymaster  entertained 
us  one  evening  at  Memphis  with  a  greenback  reception, 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  next  day  our  sutler,  Gostoffer,  who  at  such  times 
clung  closer  than  a  brother,  having  us  cornered  on  board, 
exacted  his  dues  for  past  luxuries.  At  Memphis  we  stopped 
for  coal,  and  at  evening  the  levee  was  bright  with  twinkling 
fires  of  the  cooks  preparing  the  rations.  A  certain  degree 
of  reckless  feeling  seemed  to  inspire  all  on  board ;  the 
body  of  a  drowned  soldier,  who  had  probably  fallen  in 
while  intoxicated,  was  rolling  in  the  water,  between  the 
boats  and  the  shore,  and  no  one  seemed  to  feel  moved 
to  give  it  burial. 

After  leaving  Memphis,  the  eleven  crowded  steamboats 
kept  within  sight  of  each  other  for  protection.  General 
Parke  commanded  on  the  Silver  Moon,  which  occasionally 
sounded  its  calliope.  Details  were  made  to  picket  the 
hurricane  deck,  and  these  guards  lay,  rifle  in  hand,  to 
return  with  a  volley  any  shot  from  the  wooded  shore  which 
lurking  bushwhackers  might  send  us.  Our  loaded  boat 
drew  eight  feet  of  water,  and  as  there  was  but  nine  in  the 
channel  the  pilot  was  afraid  to  run  in  the  night  below 
Helena,  so  the  bows  of  the  boat  were  run  upon  the  bank 
and  pickets  were  sent  ashore  to  prevent  surprise.  The 
lead  was  thrown  for  soundings,  and  the  boys  caught  the 
lingo,  "A  quarter  less  three,"  "And  a  half  six,"  etc.,  which 
on  many  a  rainy  night  afterwards,  in  bivouac  or  plodding 
in  the  mud,  served  as  a  call  which  never  failed  to  raise  a 
laugh.  The  water  in  the  stream  was  of  a  gray  color,  and 
when  allowed  to  settle  deposited  fine  sand,  leaving  the 
upper  part  clear  and  palatable  for  drinking. 

We  reached  Sherman's  Landing,  below  Young's  Point,  on 
the  fourteenth  of  June,  and  disembarked  upon  the  forest- 
covered  western  bank,  at  the  north  end  of  the  great  ditch 
or  cut-off,  which,  commenced  by  General  Williams  in  1862, 
and  worked  upon  by  the  army  of  General  Grant  in  the 
February  preceding  our  landing,  was  intended  to  turn  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  133 

river  and  afford  a  passage  to  the  fleet,  harmlessly,  past 
Vicksburg.  The  soil  was  clayey  and  hard  to  dig  through, 
the  dams  broke  unexpectedly  and  drove  out  the  workmen, 
and  the  river  still  ran  undisturbed  in  its  own  channel. 
Since  the  war  the  river  has  worn  a  channel  through  this 
peninsula,  at  a  point  between  this  wrongly  located  ditch 
and  the  city  front.  Down  stream,  looking  south-east,  lay 
in  plain  view  the  buildings  of  the  city  of  Vicksburg,  situ 
ated  upon  the  high  east  bank,  the  court-house  towering 
conspicuously.  Below  us,  under  the  right  bank,  were  our 
mortar-boats,  enclosed  rafts,  each  carrying  a  mortar  of  the 
largest  size,  from  which  was  thrown  every  few  minutes  a 
shell  into  the  doomed  city.  While  the  siege  lasted  these 
ugly  fellows  kept  up  an  incessant  knocking  at  the  front 
door,  while  Grant  and  Sherman  thundered  at  the  rear. 
Almost  directly  opposite  our  landing-place  was  the  mouth 
of  the  Yazoo  River. 

General  Grant,  having  tried  ineffectually  —  as  had  Gen 
eral  Sherman  previously  —  to  gain  the  rear  of  the  city  by 
movements  up  the  Yazoo,  and  failing  in  the  cut-offs  and 
other  schemes  for  getting  by,  had  conceived  the  admirable 
plan  of  taking  the  city  in  rear  from  the  south.  Gun-boats 
and  transports  had  run  the  gauntlet  of  Confederate  bat 
teries  at  the  city  and  below,  and  were  then  used  to  ferry 
the  army  across  at  Bruinsburg,  below  Bayou  Pierre  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Big  Black  River,  which  flow  in  from  the 
north-east  below  the  city,  as  the  Yazoo  does  above.  The 
general  then  led  his  forces  up  the  Big  Black,  making  a 
detour  to  Jackson,  to  turn  back  the  Confederate  army  of 
General  Johnston  —  the  Fifty-Ninth  Indiana  being  first  in 
the  city — and  then  coming  back  upon  General  Pemberton 
enclosed  him  with  his  forces  in  Vicksburg.  The  fighting 
had  been  sanguinary  at  Port  Gibson,  Raymond,  Champion's 
Hill  and  Big  Black  Bridge,  but  always  in  favor  of  the  Union 


134  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

cause,  and  greatly  to  the  honor  of  the  Thirteenth,  Fifteenth 
and  Seventeenth  Corps,  the  troops  engafed.  Upon  arriv 
ing  behind  the  city  Grant  had  ordered  the  usual  grand 
assault,  on  the  twenty-second  of  May,  which,  as  usual,  was 
a  failure ;  and  since  then  regular  approaches  had  been 
made  and  a  complete  state  of  siege  maintained.  We  were 
not  wanted  to  aid  in  the  operations  upon  the  lines  facing 
the  city,  there  was  sufficient  force  present  for  that  purpose ; 
our  assistance  was  needed  upon  the  reverse  face,  looking 
to  the  east,  where  General  Johnston  threatened  an  advance 
upon  the  rear  of  the  troops  fronting  the  city.  General 
Sherman  had  command  of  the  left  wing  of  the  army  — 
including  the  force  fronting  Johnston  —  and  to  him  our 
two  divisions  were  assigned. 

Our  landing  below  Young's  Point  was  made  in  accord 
ance  with  a  first  intention  of  placing  our  divisions  at  the 
extreme  south  end  of  the  city,  which  was  the  weakest  part 
of  the  circle  of  investment ;  accordingly,  on  the  fifteenth 
of  June,  we  crossed  the  Vicksburg  and  Shreveport  Rail 
road,  on  the  Louisiana  shore,  through  the  swamp,  south, 
to  the  river  bank  below  the  city,  at  a  point  opposite  War- 
renton.  The  landing-place  was  crowded  with  negroes  of 
both  sexes,  who  had  attached  themselves  to  the  army,  the 
men  enlisting  in  the  loyal  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  regi 
ments  then  forming ;  they  were  a  ragged  and  forlorn- 
looking  crowd.  We,  with  the  Seventh-Ninth  New  York 
and  Eighth  Michigan,  had  boarded  the  steamboat  Forest 
Queen,  and  were  examining  the  shot-holes  and  damages 
she  had  sustained  while  running  the  batteries,  when  orders 
came  to  disembark  and  camp  in  a  cotton-wood  grove  on 
the  river  bank.  No  sooner  were  tents  pitched  than  a 
command  arrived  to  return  to  Sherman's  Landing,  which 
was  done,  part  of  the  way  after  dark,  and  very  dark  it  was. 
The  men  did  not  object  to  the  trip,  as  they  had  a  good 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  135 

look  at  a  Louisiana  swamp,  going  and  returning,  and 
another  view  of  the  city  from  below.  The  most  noticeable 
thing  in  the  swamp  was  the  trailing  moss  upon  the  trees, 
which  gave  them  the  appearance  of  being  hung  in  mourn 
ing,  and  added  a  gloom  to  the  forest  which  affected  the 
wayfarer.  Vines  with  flaming  trumpet  flowers  somewhat 
relieved  the  sombre  obscurity. 

At  noon,  next  day,  we  went  aboard  the  Omaha,  and,  in 
a  heavy  thunder  storm,  paddled  up  the  Yazoo  to  Haines's 
Bluff.  The  boat  was  crowded  with  men,  and  as  no  landing 
was  permitted  until  morning  it  was  difficult  to  find  space 
to  sit  down,  not  to  mention  the  luxury  of  lying  at  full 
length.  The  heavy  cannon,  which  had  made  the  approach 
to  this  point  impracticable  to  our  gun-boats,  were  still 
resting  in  the  earthworks,  where  the  Confederates  had  so 
hastily  abandoned  them  when  Grant  came  in  their  rear. 
In  the  morning,  the  Western  troops,  who  had  occupied  this 
point,  marching  away  as  we  landed,  we  proceeded  inland, 
about  five  miles,  to  Milldale,  where  camp  was  formed  as 
well  as  the  narrow  vale  in  which  we  were  located  would 
permit,  near  a  fine  spring  of  water.  The  first  days  were 
given  to  examining  the  country  and  eating  blackberries, 
until  the  lines  could  be  laid  out  which  we  were  to  con 
struct  and  defend  if  need  be.  One  morning,  while  the 
morning  report  books  were  under  discussion,  a  heavy 
explosion  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  city,  followed 
by  heavier  firing  than  ordinary,  said  to  have  been  the 
explosion  of  a  mine  under  one  of  the  enemy's  forts.  Upon 
another  morning  General  Grant  visited  our  encampment, 
and  called  upon  General  Parke,  who  commanded  our 
corps,  to  which  a  division  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps  had  been 
temporarily  added.  General  Potter  led  our  division  and 
General  Ferrero  our  brigade. 

The  district  back  of  Vicksburg,  called  Walnut  Hills,  is 


136  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

cut  by  deep  dells  or  ravines,  like  immense  furrows,  in  all 
directions.  One  goes  up,  then  down,  repeatedly,  unless 
following  a  ridge.  Even  the  city  itself  is  located  upon 
the  same  system,  and  the  cuttings  of  the  streets  to  grade, 
through  the  ridges,  served  the  citizens  for  convenient 
banks,  in  which  they  dug  the  caves  which  sheltered  them 
from  the  mortar-firing  above  mentioned.  Where  we  were 
it  was  only  necessary  to  throw  up  a  breastwork  upon 
the  ridge  selected,  cut  down  the  trees,  which  grew  thickly 
upon  the  outer  side,  for  a  slashing  or  abatis;  plant  the 
artillery  at  commanding  angles,  and  a  line  was  established 
which  was  impregnable.  General  Johnston  knew  the  diffi 
culties  of  the  approach  and  kept  a  respectful  distance,  near 
Birdsong's  Ferry,  inclining  rather  to  the  south,  down  the 
Big  Black  —  which  ran  across  our  front  —  in  hopes  of  suc 
coring  Pemberton,  whose  sortie,  if  made,  would  aim  natu 
rally  in  that  direction.  As  soon  as  the  work  of  digging 
this  line  was  commenced,  we  moved  a  mile  nearer  the 
Yazoo  landing,  and  pitched  tents  upon  a  side  hill,  in  order 
to  be  near  the  scene  of  our  labors.  The  heat  of  the  sun 
was  excessive ;  fortunately,  we  were  able  to  keep  in  shade 
except  when  on  the  ridge  handling  the  pick  and  spade  in 
the  trenches  —  then  the  labor  was  very  arduous. 

The  luxuries  of  the  place  were  blackberries  and  wild 
plums  ;  later  on,  peaches,  figs  and  paw-paws.  None  of  us 
ever  saw  these  fruits  in  greater  abundance  •  so,  in  the 
intervals  of  digging  and  camp  duty,  the  boys  feasted  upon 
these,  while  the  constant  booming  in  the  direction  of  the 
city  warned  the  berry-pickers  that  they  were  only  playing 
at  peace.  And  even  among  the  bushes  one  had  to  keep 
his  eyes  open  for  bees  and  hornets,  which  also  love  sweets, 
and  the  snakes,  which  were  of  prodigious  size  and  fatness. 
Several  new  insect  torments  here  introduced  themselves, 
peculiar  to  the  climate,  but  the  mosquitoes  were  not  so 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  137 

troublesome    as    sometimes   further  north.      The   colonel 
commenced  instructing  the  sergeants  in  tactics,  and,  there 
being  no  level  ground  for  battalion  manoeuvres,  to  employ 
the  time  usefully  turned  his  critical  eye  upon  the  officers' 
company  books  and  accounts.    This  course  of  clerical  drill 
produced  valuable  fruits,  when  at  the  end  of  their  service 
the  officers  came  to  settle  with  the  auditor  at  Washington 
for  the  losses  and  mishaps  of  such  varied  campaigns.    Cap 
tain  Blanchard  left  for  home,  having  resigned ;  but  he  was 
afterwards  restored  to  his  rank  and  returned  to  the  regiment. 
On  the  twenty-ninth  we  moved  still  further  south-east, 
about  eight  miles  —  a  hot  march  —  to   McCalls,  or  Oak 
Ridge ;  and  a  sandy  waterless  ridge  it  was.     In  the  deep 
dells  barrels  were  sunk ;  these  slowly  collected  from  the 
soil  our  drinking  water,  which  was  cool,  though  one  often 
had  to  wait  a  long  while  for  a  canteen-full.     In  the  bright 
moonlight  nights  the  heavy  masses  of  foliage  and   dark 
shadows  gave  these  ravines  a  very  charming  appearance. 
Here  we  relieved  some  of  Sherman's  men,  tall  and  straight 
fellows,  with  their  imposing  felt  hats,   some   armed   with 
Henry  repeating  rifles.     They  were  full   of  stories  about 
the  fights  at  Champion's  Hill  and  other  places,  and  we 
Jistened  with   interest.     To  be   sure   the   losses   at   Fred- 
ericksburg  alone  in  one  day  had  been  many  more  than 
theirs  during  their  whole  campaign,  but  Eastern  soldiers 
were  not  inclined  to  boast  of  that  day,  and  the  Western 
vim  and  self-confidence  were  so  different  from  the  tone  of 
the  Eastern  army  it  was  a  pleasure  to  listen  to   their  talk. 
We  accepted  in  silence  the  epithets  of  "Holiday  Soldiers," 
etc.,   trusting   to   the    course   of   events,  rather   than   our 
tongues,  to  prove  our  mettle.     They  had   served  well   in 
a  magnificent  campaign,  and  they  were  right  to  feel  proud 
of  their  share  in  it.     At  Oak  Ridge  we  adopted  from  these 
Western  men  the  custom  of  raising  beds  and  tents  some 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

two  feet  from  the  ground  for  the  sake  of  coolness.  The 
usual  bi-monthly  muster  for  pay  —  to  compare  the  number 
of  men  with  the  number  on  the  rolls  —  took  place  here, 
and  digging  was  resumed. 

On  the  fourth  of  July  we  were  enlivened  by  the  arrival 
of  mails  and  rations,  which  kept  us  so  busy  we  scarcely 
noticed  that  the  sounds  of  cannonading  towards  the  city 
had  ceased.  In  course  of  the  day,  however,  the  rumor 
was  circulated  that  General  Pemberton  had  surrendered, 
and  in  the  afternoon  the  news  was  officially  confirmed 
amid  great  rejoicing.  The  total  losses  to  the  Confederates 
had  been  over  40,000  men,  of  whom  31,000  were  the  gar 
rison  of  Vicksburg,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-two 
pieces  of  artillery,  with  arms  and  munitions  for  60,000 
men ;  altogether,  the  most  damaging  single  blow  the  Con 
federate  cause  suffered  during  the  war.  There  was  no 
attempt  at  a  triumph,  and  no  troops,  except  General 
Logan's  division  for  a  guard,  marched  into  the  city ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  orders  confirming  the  news  also  directed 
an  immediate  march  eastward  to  meet  Johnston ;  and, 
before  we  could  fairly  realize  the  victory,  we  were  upon 
the  road,  leaving  camp  about  six  that  evening,  the  men 
feeling  eager  for  a  more  active  share  in  such  achievements, 
and,  if  ever  such  words  are  true,  spoiling  for  a  fight. 

However,  the  excitement  had  time  to  cool  a  little  during 
the  following  two  days  while  the  corps  lay  massed  by  the 
road  side,  waiting  for  the  construction  of  a  bridge  over  the 
Big  Black,  at  Birdsong's  Ferry,  by  the  leading  brigade,  of 
which  the  Thirty-Sixth  Massachusetts  formed  a  part.  Here 
Assistant  Surgeons  Roche  and  Coburn  joined,  but  the 
latter  was  never  mustered  in,  the  regiment  had  become 
too  reduced  in  numbers  to  be  entitled  to  two  assistants. 
Quartermaster  Upton  also  returned,  his  arm  having  healed, 
and  took  position  on  the  division  staff. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  139 

General  Sherman's  plan  of  action  is  briefly  stated  in  the 
following  order,  circulated  here  : 

"GENERAL   ORDERS,  No.  52. 
"  HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION, 

"CAMP  AT  FLOX,  July  6,  1863. 

"  IV. — The  movement  (of  this  division)  will  begin  at  four 
o'clock  P.  M.  of  July  6  (to-day).  VI. — All  commanders  will 
hold  their  troops  in  perfect  order  for  battle  at  all  times, 
and  on  encountering  the  enemy  will  engage  him  at  once. 
VII. —  Private  pillage  and  plunder  must  cease;  our  sup 
plies  are  now  ample ; the  people  of  the  country 

should  be  protected  as  far  as  possible  against  wanton  acts 
of  irresponsible  parties,  etc. 

"  By  order  of  MAJ.  GEN.  SHERMAN, 

"  R.  M.  SAWYER,  A.  A.  G. 
"Official:  G.  H.  McKiBBEN,  A.  A.  6V' 

Drinking  water  became  an  item  of  chief  interest  at  once, 
and  continued  to  be  during  the  march.  The  soil  was 
porous  and  quickly  absorbed  rain,  the  rivers  were  swampy, 
and  the  water  said  to  be  poisonous  or  malarious.  Small 
streams  or  springs  there  were  none ;  the  people  stored 
their  drinking  water  in  huge  brick  cisterns  under  ground. 
There  were  occasional  clayey  pond-holes  where  the  rain 
collected,  which  were  our  source  of  supply ;  and  the  water 
from  them  was  sufficiently  muddy  and  vile  without  the 
flavoring  extracted  from  the  dead  mule,  which  usually  lay 
stewing  in  the  sun  in  the  middle  of  the  hole.  The  story 
was  that  the  retreating  enemy  had  placed  them  there  pur 
posely;  but  this,  like  many  similar  tales,  was  crediting 
them  with  too  thoughtful  a  malignity.  As  the  troops 
passed,  cotton  presses,  stored  with  bales  of  dbtton,  then 
of  almost  priceless  value  at  the  North,  were  seen  waste- 
fully  burning,  from  lack  of  means  of  transportation.  The 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

old  cotton-fields  were  planted  with  corn,  now  almost  fit 
for  roasting,  which  formed  an  important  part  of  our  sus 
tenance  upon  the  trip.  The  people  have  a  way,  there 
abouts,  of  girdling  the  immense  trees  instead  of  cutting 
them  down,  and,  thereafter,  the  slowly  decaying  trunks  — 
barkless  and  for  the  most  part  branchless  —  stand,  like 
ghosts,  among  the  corn,  forming  a  melancholy  feature  of 
the  scenery. 

About  two   in  the  afternoon  of  July  7  the  bridge  was 
ready  and  W7e  crossed  the  river.     In  the   bottom  lands  — 
some  cotton-fields  —  the  sun  beat  down  with  power  untem- 
pered  by  the  slightest  breath  of  air.     The  effect  was  over 
powering  ;  stout  men  dropped  in  the  ranks  as  if  shot,  and 
even  the  toughest  gasped  for  breath  and  staggered  on  to 
the  upland,  where  there  was  some  shade.     The  men  affirm 
that  they  never,  before  nor  since,  experienced  such  torrid 
heat.     The  afterpiece  was  a  thunder  storm  of  great  fury, 
the  flashing  of  the  lightning  and  rolling  of  the   thunder 
being  continuous  instead  of  in  explosions  in   the  normal 
way.     Nevertheless,  we  kept  upon   the  road,  the  grateful 
rain  pouring  upon  our  soaked  caps  and  down  our  backs  in 
bucketfuls.     The  mud  in  the  road  was  unfathomable.     At 
midnight  a  halt  was  called,  and,  the  storm  having  passed 
over,  we  turned  off  the  road  in  the  pitchy  darkness,  and, 
perched  upon  rails  or  brush,  slept  who  could.    Next  morn 
ing  we  had  to  wait  for  the  road  to  dry,  to  be   passable  for 
the  artillery,  and  the  start  came  again  at  mid-day ;  where 
upon  the  heat  was  so  great  as  to  compel  a  halt  until   the 
sun   should  sink  sufficiently  to   be   borne,   and  thus  the 
march  again  drew  out  until  midnight ;  this  time  the  air 
being  so  warm  and  close  as  to  induce  drowsiness,  so  that 
after  every  halt  the  men  who  had  insensibly  dropped  asleep 
had  to  be  roused  —  altogether,  marching  in  such  devitalized 
air  was  trying  work. 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  14! 

During  the  night  of  the  tempest  Lieutenant  M.  B.  Hawes, 
acting  quartermaster,  with  the  wagon  train,  was  accident 
ally  killed.  The  following  account  of  the  storm  and  of  the 
lieutenant's  death  was  written  a  few  days  after  by  one  who 
was  near  him  at  the  time  : 

"  It  now  became  so  dark  I  could  not  see  my  mare  Sallie's 
head.  By  this  time  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale  and  it 
never  rained  faster.  Such  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  and 
such  peals  of  thunder  I  never  saw  or  heard.  I  found  it 
impossible  to  control  Sallie  on  her  back,  so  dismounted, 
and  then  I  had  my  hands  full.  The  lightning  struck  all 
around  us,  and  boughs  were  falling  in  all  directions.  The 
storm,  or  rather  tempest,  lasted  about  two  hours,  and, 
more  or  less,  all  night.  During  the  storm  a  bough  fell 
and  struck  Lieutenant  Hawes,  killing  him  instantly.  He 
was  sitting  in  his  wagon,  only  two  or  three  wagons  in  rear 
of  ours.  Lieutenant  Hawes  was  a  splendid  fellow,  pro 
moted  from  the  ranks,  and  was  one  of  the  most  promising 
officers  in  the  regiment,  and  would,  no  doubt,  soon  have 
been  again  promoted.  I  spoke  with  him  only  about  an 
hour  before  he  was  dead.  He  was  always  cheerful,  with  a 
pleasant  word  for  everybody.  I  understood  the  quarter 
master  of  an  Ohio  regiment  was  also  killed.  Lieutenant 
Hawes  was  buried  next  morning  under  a  tree  near  the 
place  where  he  was  killed." 

We  plodded  along,  during  the  eighth  and  ninth,  towards 
Jackson,  through  the  cornfields  and  by-roads,  the  artillery 
and  trains  occupying  the  best  track,  the  forces  of  General 
Johnston  retiring  as  the  Federals  advanced.  Sherman's 
army  of  about  50,000  men  marched  in  three  columns,  of 
which  our  corps  formed  the  left  and  most  northerly.  Our 
route  was  by  rough  side  roads ;  but,  thereby,  we  escaped 
'the  worst  of  the  dust.  We  passed  the  plantation  of  Joe 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  Jefferson  Davis,  but  hurried  by  so  fast  no  opportunity 
was  given  for  an  examination  of  a  place  where  the  Pres 
ident  of  the  Confederacy  had  plotted  rebellion  long  before 
the  war  began.  It  was  said  that  stragglers  opened  Jeff's 
library  to  free  circulation,  with  no  penalty  for  books  not 
returned.  As  we  approached  Jackson,  the  Confederate 
cavalry  was  encountered,  and  the  artillery  began  shelling 
them,  while  the  troops  were  massed  in  an  opening  to  await 
the  result.  A  large  house  was  in  flames  near  by,  and  some 
of  the  men  who  strolled  in  that  direction  returned  with 
small  articles  they  had  picked  up,  rather  to  the  disgust  of 
others  who  were  not  yet  hardened  even  by  the  scenes  in 
Fredericksburg  to  approve  useless  plundering.  Generals 
Sherman  and  Parke  issued  rigorous  orders,  forbidding 
everything  of  the  kind — we  had  been  accustomed  to  keep 
even  the  apple  trees  under  guard  in  Virginia.  As  the  war 
progressed,  however,  and  especially  under  Sherman  and 
Sheridan  and  certain  Confederate  raiders,  this  leniency 
towards  private  property  was  less  regarded  —  it  is  a  diffi 
cult  thing  to  manage  in  civil  war.  The  afternoon  was  to 
us  a  specimen  scene  from  Sherman's  future  "  March  to 
the  Sea." 

On  the  tenth,  crossing  the  wide  ocean  —  it  was  like 
nothing  else  —  of  cornfields  west  of  the  city,  we  struck  the 
road  leading  north  to  Canton,  and  at  evening  were  in  line 
of  battle,  facing  the  city  lying  south  of  us,  and  in  this 
position  lay  upon  our  arms  all  night.  The  right  (Ord's 
Corps)  and  centre  (Steele's  Corps)  of  the  army  enclosed 
the  south  and  west  sides  of  the  town ;  to  the  east  was 
Pearl  River,  which  the  cavalry  was  expected  to  watch. 
General  Johnston  had  about  30,000  men  for  duty. 

At  dawn  our  troops  were  in  line,  advancing,  the  First 
Division  in  front  with  skirmishers  deployed.  While  mov 
ing  up,  an  officer  in  a  uniform  coat,  faded  from  blue  to 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  143 

bottle  green,  rode  quietly  by,  attended  by  one  or  two 
others.  He  was  General  Sherman  —  even  then  an  object 
of  curiosity ;  but  where  was  the  immense  staff,  the  flash 
and  glitter,  which  we  were  accustomed  to  associate  with 
the  chief  of  a  great  army  ?  Evidently  our  present  com 
mander  had  come  out  to  see  and  not  to  be  seen. 

Reaching  and  passing  the  buildings  of  the  State  Asylum 
for  the  Insane  and  the  grove  near  it  —  which  served  for 
our  hospital  and  where  Company  K  was  detailed  for  guard 
—  we  traversed  the  grounds  and  sweet-potato  patches,  and 
halted  upon  a  wooded  hill-side.  The  Second  Michigan 
was  skirmishing  in  front  upon  a  ridge  facing  the  enemy's 
intrenchments,  and  our  duty  for  the  day  was  simply  to  be 
ready  in  case  they  should  need  support.  The  heat  was 
intense  and,  added  to  their  previous  exertions,  overpowered 
some  dozen  of  the  men,  and  so  affected  even  the  colonel 
that  he  was  obliged  to  retire  to  the  hospital.  During  the 
day  an  occasional  chance  bullet  visited  us,  one  hitting 
Folsom,  of  Company  I  —  who  was  noted  for  catching  stray 
balls  —  but  they  did  not  come  often  enough  to  prevent  the 
men  from  falling  asleep.  In  the  absence  of  field  officers 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Mitchell,  of  the  Fifty-First  New  York, 
was  assigned  to  command  the  regiment.  He  proved  to 
be  an  able  officer,  of  pleasant  manners,  and  so  won  our 
regard  that  he  never  afterwards  could  approach  the  quar 
ters  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  without  being  cheered  by  the  men.^ 

Before  daybreak  of  the  twelfth,  the  Thirty-Fifth  moved 
forward  noiselessly,  and  at  sunrise  relieved  the  Seventeenth 
Michigan  upon  the  skirmish  line.  The  right  of  the  regi 
ment  rested  upon  a  ridge  close  to  the  Canton  road;  .here 
Adjutant  Wales,  inspecting  our  skirmish  line,  discovered  a 
gap  of  about  two  hundred  yards  between  our  right — which 
was  the  right  of  the  Ninth  Corps  —  and  the  left  of  the 

*  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mitchell  died  at  Aurora,  Indiana,  on  January  16,  1884. 


144  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Western  troops ;  reporting  the  fact  to  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Mitchell,  the  adjutant  was  ordered  to  report  to  General 
Ferrero,  who,  finding  that  we  had  one  company  (K)  not 
on  the  skirmish  line,  ordered  him  to  put  it  in  the  interval, 
which  he  did  by  deploying  it  as  skirmishers  behind  the  hill 
and  then  advancing.  The  Confederates  made  it  warm 
for  K's  men  when  they  appeared  on  the  crest  of  the  hill. 
General  Ferrero  and  Captain  McKibben  were  present  at 
the  time.  At  this  point  —  the  Canton  road  —  there  was  a 
Confederate  battery  in  a  covering  work  made  of  earth  and 
bales  of  cotton ;  the  space  between  the  opposing  lines  was 
low  ground  cleared  of  trees  and  underbush,  except  what 
had  been  left  for  abatis.  The  enemy's  lines  of  entrench 
ment  retired  on  both  sides  of  the  battery,  sweeping  back 
to  enclose  the  town,  and  were  occupied  by  his  infantry 
(Loring's  division,  mostly  Mississippi  troops),  with  pickets 
and  sharpshooters  lying  in  the  woods  in  their  front.  In 
short,  it  was  such  a  line  as  we  had  been  making  at  Mill- 
dale  to  receive  them,  and  which  they  had  declined  to  attack. 
The  centre  and  left  of  the  regiment  was  stretched  out 
as  skirmishers  for  some  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  left,  all 
but  the  right  companies  being  in  thick  woods  with  much 
underbrush.  As  this  was  our  first  experience  in  such 
bushwhacking  business,  the  day's  operations  were  very 
interesting  as  well  as  exciting.  The  men  lay  low  or  kept 
behind  trees,  exchanging  shots  with  their  opponents  — 
who  lurked  under  cover  in  the  same  way  —  and  watched 
the  artillery  duel.  Lieutenant  Benjamin,  with  his  favorite 
twenty-pounders,  opened  upon  the  enemy ;  once  or  twice, 
while  getting  the  range,  dropping  a  shell  short  into  our 
line,  in  the  pleasant  way  the  gunners  had  of  letting  the 
infantry  know  that  they  had  artillery  support.  The  Con 
federates  who  manned  the  cotton  battery  were  the  noisiest 
lot  we  ever  listened  to,;  we  were  so  close  as  to  easily  hear 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  145 

everything,  their  words  of  command,  the  discharges,  and 
the  yells  which  they  gave  every  time,  with  the  compliments 
they  sent  with  the  shot.  The  noise  they  made  seemed  to 
keep  up  their  courage,  and  as  for  their  missiles  they  went 
whirring  overheard  in  search  of  the  lunatics  in  the  asylum. 
General  Sherman  posted  about  one  hundred  guns  in  good 
positions,  which  commanded  the  city  in  every  part,  but, 
as  ammunition  was  short,  delayed  opening  fire  until  the 
supply  trains  should  come  up.  At  night  the  men  were 
ordered  to  fix  bayonets  and  receive  any  sallying  party 
with  cold  steel.  The  only  event  was  the  missing  of  our 
lines  by  men  returning  from  the  rear  in  the  darkness ; 
Sergeant  Luther  S.  Bailey,  of  Company  G,  in  this  way 
wandered  over  to  the  Confederates  and  was  taken  pris 
oner. 

At  daylight,  July  13,  we  were,  in  turn,  relieved  by  the 
Seventh  Rhode  Island.  In  coming  forward  for  the  pur 
pose,  they  made  what  seemed  to  us  rather  too  much  racket 
with  orders  and  tin  pots  rattling  upon  bayonets.  The 
enemy  thought  it  an  advance  of  our  lines,  and  commenced 
shooting  in  a  brisk  manner  at  once,  keeping  up  a  more 
steady  firing  all  day,  to  the  damage  of  the  Seventh,  who 
lost  some  fifteen  killed  and  wounded.  As  they  had  started 
the  game  we  were  content  to  let  them  play  it  out,  and 
retired  into  the  reserve  line  to  cook  the  longed-for  coffee. 

The  following  is  a  sample  of  the  events  which  were 
happening  along  the  line  in  such  work :  One  of  our  ser 
geants,  having  in  his  usual  systematic  way  done  up  his 
morning  "chores,"  which  consisted  of  carefully  combing 
his  hair,  shaking  and  folding  his  rubber  blanket,  reading 
his  morning  chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  disposing  of  a  bit 
of  hard  bread  and  a  sip  of  water  —  all  the  time  moving 
about  without  regard  to  shelter,  as  if  there  was  not  a 
sharpshooter  within  a  thousand  miles  —  at  length,  ready 


146  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

to  be  relieved,  received  the  salutations  of  the  sergeant  of 
the  Seventh,  who  had  come  to  take  his  place,  and,  holding 
his  rifle  across  his  breast  in  his  left  hand,  with  his  right 
pointed  out  the  localities  where  the  Confederate  pickets 
were  hidden ;  a  shot  came  at  the  instant,  passed  through 
the  body  of  the  sergeant  of  the  Seventh,  killing  him,  and 
smashed  the  lower  band  of  the  rifle  of  our  sergeant,  doing 
him  no  harm.  The  marvel  was  that  our  man  was  not  fired 
at  before,  when  he  was  shaking  his  blanket. 

The  enemy  continued  very  uneasy  all  day;  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  lay  in  support  as  upon  the  first  day,  this  time  in  rear 
of  the  Sixth  New  Hampshire ;  but  the  rumpus  in  front  was 
so  continuous  as  to  prevent  catching  much  of  the  precious 
sleep  which  the  men  now  needed  extremely.  At  one  time 
during  the  day  the  efforts  of  the  enemy  were  so  violent  as 
to  appear  like  an  attempt  to  break  our  front  line;  the 
humming  of  the  bullets  was  quite  lively,  and  the  regiment 
formed,  moved  into  position,  and  even  charged  forward  a 
little  way ;  but,  finally,  the  Confederates  desisted  and  the 
lines  quieted  down.  It  is  possible  that  the  capture  of 
Bailey,  informing  them  that  they  had  Massachusetts  men 
in  their  front,  had  excited  their  spite.  By  the  next  morn 
ing  (fourteenth)  the  men  were  so  used  up,  from  lack  of 
rest  and  food  and  the  heat,  a  day  was  given  for  a  respite, 
and  the  regiment  marched  to  the  rear  of  the  Asylum. 
Many  of  the  boys  took  a  plunge  in  a  mud-hole  near  by, 
which  was  more  cooling  than  cleansing.  It  was  so  dry 
and  warm  the  men  slept  anywhere  upon  the  ground  with 
out  covering;  few  carried  more  luggage  than  a  shelter 
tent  or  piece  of  rubber  blanket  for  protection  in  case  of 
rain.  On  the  fifteenth,  Captain  Pratt  and  fifty  men  went 
on  a  scout  south-eastward  towards  Pearl  River,  in  support 
of  the  engineers,  who  were  investigating  that  weak  point 
in  our  investment. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  147 

At  half-past  one  in  the  morning  of  the  sixteenth  we 
moved  up  to  the  reserve  post,  relieved  the  Twenty-Seventh 
Michigan  in  support  of  skirmishers,  and  lay  in  the  road 
running  under  the  ridge  the  whole  day,  reading  old  papers, 
etc.,  with  an  occasional  chance  shot  or  shell  from  the 
enemy,  or  an  order  to  fall  in,  fix  bayonets,  etc.,  to  relieve 
the  dullness  of  waiting.  During  the  day  our  skirmishers 
were  advanced  and  the  enemy  were  driven  into  their 
intrenchments,  where  they  appeared  to  be  in  full  force, 
quieting  the  suspicions  entertained  by  our  generals  that 
an  evacuation  was  in  progress.  At  night  we  got  about 
two  hours'  sleep,  and  then  crept  forward  quietly  and 
relieved  the  Forty-Sixth  New  York  (Germans)  on  the 
skirmish  line.  The  position  was  nearly  the  same  as  on 
the  twelfth,  and  therefore  the  broken  Dutch  instructions 
of  our  predecessors  were  little  needed.  It  was  about  two 
o'clock,  quite  dark,  and  some  care  was  required  to  post 
the  men  without  noise.  Having  selected  cover  and  a  hard 
bread  to  munch  we  waited  patiently  for  dawn,  or  for  some 
venturesome  foeman  to  expose  himself.  A  bright  light 
appeared  over  the  city,  the  bells  rang  for  fire,  and  there 
was  a  great  stir;  then  the  glow  died  out,  and  all  was  quiet. 
The  cocks  began  to  crow  and  the  birds  commenced  to 
sing.  There  was  an  alarm  about  the  centre  of  the  regi 
ment  and  the  musketry  was  brisk  for  a  few  moments,  but 
nothing  came  of  it. 

Soon  it  was  gray  dawn,  but  still  no  shots  from  the 
enemy ;  it  began  to  look  suspicious.  Lieutenant  Ingell 
was  eager  for  an  advance,  and  sent  back  to  ask  permission 
to  go  forward.  General  Ferrero  was  on  the  alert,  and  the 
order  was  passed  along  the  line  to  send  out  a  few  men  to 
try  and  draw  the  enemy's  fire.  They  went  out,  discharged 
their  pieces  and  returned,  and  no  hostile  shot  replied.  At 
the  battery  something  was  seen  waving  like  a  signal,  and, 


148  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

as  light  increased,  it  was  found  to  be  a  white  flag  displayed 
by  a  colored  man,  who  asked  if  he  could  come  over,  and 
was  answered  in  the  affirmative.  He  was  met  half  way 
by  Sergeant-Major  Berry  and  an  officer  of  the  Forty-Sixth 
New  York,  each  bearing  a  white  flag;  they  learned  that 
the  city  was  being  evacuated.  The  information  spread 
quickly;  the  order  was  given  to  move  upon  the  works. 
The  right  companies,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mitchell, 
with  the  flags,  at  once  dashed  up  the  road  to  the  cotton 
battery,  sending  word  along  the  line  to  rally  on  the  colors. 
They  found  the  battery  almost  deserted,  waved  the  colors 
in  token  of  success,  and  hastened  forward  through  the 
city  to  the  State  Capitol,  upon  which  the  Confederate  flag 
still  floated.  Adjutant  Wales,  Sergeant-Major  Berry  and 
Color-Sergeant  A.  J.  White  hurried  in  front;  in  haste  they 
climbed  to  the  top  of  the  stately  edifice,  and  the  rising 
sun  saluted  the  national  flag,  which  Colonel  Wild  had  so 
lately  sent  from  home,  surmounting  the  stars  and  bars 
upon  the  Capitol !  Adjutant  Wales  secured  the  Con 
federate  flag.  Meanwhile  the  left  companies  advanced  in 
skirmish  line  through  the  woods  and  up  to  the  works  in 
their  front,  also  meeting  no  opposition  from  the  enemy. 
At  their  point  of  entrance  there  remained  in  position  a 
thirty-two  pounder  cannon,  with  shells  beside  it.  They 
made  directly  to  the  Capitol — the  Eleventh  New  Hamp 
shire  coming  on  in  a  handsome  line  upon  the  left  —  and 
found  the  rest  of  the  regiment  there,  with  our  glorious 
banner  floating  above  in  the  morning  light. 

Our  men  had  many  adventures  that  morning  in  the 
capture  of  prisoners,  etc.,  which  served  to  amuse  the 
circles  about  the  camp-fires  in  after  days.  The  regiment 
collected  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  prisoners,  including 
one  officer.  The  last  of  the  retreating  enemy  were  hurry 
ing  off,  over  Pearl  River,  to  Eastern  Mississippi.  It  was 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  149 

a  happy  moment !  One  may  imagine  the  pleasurable  feel 
ings  which  comes  over  a  poor,  half-starved  devil  —  who 
has  laid  out,  in  prospect,  a  day  of  hard  picket  duty,  with, 
perhaps,  wounds  or  death  —  to  find  all  this  passed  away, 
the  enemy  gone,  and  himself  standing  upon  the  earthworks 
which  have  cost  them  so  much  labor,  and  the  victory  gained 
with  so  little  loss.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  the  first  regiment 
of  the  army  to  enter  the  city ;  the  first  men  over  the  Con 
federate  works  were  Sergeant  Joseph  E.  Hood,  Corporal 
Newell  Davis,  Dennison  Hooper,  Jonathan  Whitehouse 
and  one  other,  all  belonging  to  our  company  F. 

The  centre  and  right  wing  of  the  army  entered  the  town, 
marching  up  the  broad  main  avenue  to  the  Capitol  in  tri 
umphal  columns.  Our  men,  who  were  scattered  about  for 
a  few  hours  —  two  companies  to  collect  stragglers  of  the 
enemy,  and  Companies  D,  G,  H  and  I  as  safeguards  upon 
the  property  of  citizens  —  secured,  most  of  them,  at  least 
one  good  meal  of  broiled  chicken  and  corn  bread  from 
the  breakfast  tables  of  the  people  they  were  protecting. 
We  were  soon  relieved  and  returned  over  the  scene  of  our 
past  labors,  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Insane  Asylum, 
and  given  time  to  rest. 

The  casualties  in  the  regiment,  by  the  enemy,  had  been 
Corporal  Stephen  R.  Willis  and  Private  Henry  S.  Hollis, 
both  of  Company  H,  died  of  wounds,  and  eight  others 
wounded.  The  loss  to  the  army  was  chiefly  in  General 
Lauman's  division,  which  through  some  misunderstanding 
made  an  assault  not  intended  by  the  general,  and  lost  some 
three  hundred  killed  and  wounded  and  two  hundred  pris 
oners,  with  the  colors  of  the  Twenty-Eighth,  Forty-First 
and  Fifty-Third  Illinois  regiments  —  a  bloody  mistake  ! 
Of  our  share  of  the  glory  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mitchell, 
Adjutant  Wales,  Sergeant-Major  Berry  and  Color-Sergeant 
White  secured  the  greater  part,  of  whom  the  last  two  after- 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

wards  lost  their  lives  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  as  did  also  Ser 
geant  Fiske,  the  bearer  of  the  regimental  flag.  But  we 
must  not  forget  that  the  alertness  shown  to  improve  the 
moment  was  the  result  of  Colonel  Carruth's  thorough  drill 
during  the  past  months,  of  which  he,  unfortunately,  did 
not  here  gather  the  reward.  The  members  of  the  regi 
ment  thought  it  rather  a  hard  joke  upon  them  when  the 
Northern  papers  gave  the  honors  to  the  Thirty-Fifth  Mis 
souri,  the  editors  thinking,  probably,  that  it  was  not  pos 
sible  for  a  Massachusetts  regiment  to  have  been  present 
here  —  the  armies  of  Grant  and  Sherman  were  well  known 
to  be  composed  originally  of  Western  troops. 

The  victory  was,  however,  rather  a  barren  one.  General 
Johnston  retreated  into  a  district  whither  it  was  not  pos 
sible  for  us  to  follow  him  in  the  heats  of  midsummer,  and 
the  fruits  were  through  the  increase  of  demoralization  in 
his  ranks  and  the  clearing  of  the  country  rather  than  in 
substantial  trophies.  General  Sherman  proceeded  to  make 
Jackson  as  useless  as  possible  to  the  Confederate  cause, 
by  destroying  all  public  property  and  tearing  up  the  rails 
on  the  roads  out  of  the  city  for  miles  in  every  direction. 
Our  First  Division  devoted  a  couple  of  days  to  the  track 
north  to  Canton;  and  by  watching  their  operations  we 
learned  the  method  of  making  the  rails  worthless,  by 
bending  them  when  heated  in  a  fire  made  of  the  ties 
which  had  supported  them. 

The  occasion  having  now  passed  for  which  the  Ninth 
Corps  had  been  sent  south,  a  return  to  Kentucky  was 
directed  forthwith,  and  we  began  to  retrace  our  steps  to 
the  banks  of  the  Yazoo.  The  distance  by  the  road  is  only 
some  fifty  miles,  but,  owing  to  the  burning  sun,  the  dust,  and 
the  haste  with  which  the  first  days'  marches  were  pushed, 
it  proved  the  most  exhausting  journey  in  the  experience 
of  the  regiment.  Rations  were  in  short  quantity,  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  151 

were  supplemented  with  green  corn,  unripe  peaches  and  , 
apples.  The  day's  march  would  begin  at  daylight,  a  halt 
would  be  made  at  noon,  and  the  march  continued  until 
after  dark.  The  first  day  (July  20)  we  made  twenty  miles, 
and  went  into  bivouac  in  a  large  field  with  the  First  Divis 
ion,  near  Clinton.  The  second  day  we  rose  at  half-past 
three  o'clock,  and  accomplished  fifteen  miles  with  great 
difficulty.  It  was  the  hottest  day  of  the  season,  dust  rose 
in  suffocating  clouds  —  so  that  one  could  hardly  see  his 
file  leader  —  and  the  fever  and  thirst  were  unendurable. 
Weak  men,  overcome,  threw  themselves  down  by  the  road 
side  in  desperation ;  strong  men  fell,  and  lay  struggling 
and  frothing  at  the  mouth ;  the  ambulances  and  wagons 
were  filled  with  the  helpless.  Those  days  cost  the  regi 
ment  more  good  men  than  a  battle. 

On  the  twenty-second  but  seven  miles  were  made,  most 
of  the  day  being  spent  in  a  grove  beside  the  road  to  enable 
the  column  to  close  up.  That  evening  the  Big  Black  was 
recrossed  by  a  lower  bridge,  and,  as  before,  we  got  a  thorough 
sousing  from  one  of  the  tropical  thunder  storms,  which  for 
opening  the  flood-gates  of  heaven  and  displaying  its  artil 
lery  are  unexcelled.  A  good  shower  bath  all  around  did 
'not  come  amiss,  but  its  cleansing  effects  were  lost  by  the 
following  night's  bivouac  in  the  mud  of  an  old  cotton-field. 
A  short  march  of  eight  miles  in  the  morning  brought  the 
"  never-fell-outs  "  into  the  old  camp  at  Milldale  on  the  hill 
side.  Some  stragglers  were  stopped  by  guerillas  and  lost 
their  watches,  but  were  themselves  released.  The  rest 
came  along  in  squads,  and  a  ragged,  mud-bespattered  lot 
they  were,  but  right  glad  to  ground  arms  at  the  spring  and 
quench  a  thirst  made  insatiable  by  past  deprivation.  Who 
ever  would  learn  to  appreciate  good  water  should  make  a 
a  forced  march  in  that  country  in  July,  and  the  thought 
thereof  will  make  him  thirsty  forevermore. 


152  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

,  Different  reasons  were  given  to  account  for  the  hurry  of 
the  return.  Some  said  it  was  done  upon  a  wager;  others 
declared  it  was  the  scarcity  of  water,  ".the  distance  between 
drinks,"  and  not  their  frequency,  which  induced  haste ; 
and  another  suggestion  was,  the  wish  to  catch  the  first 
boats  up-river;  so  many  troops  were  being  shifted  or 
returned  to  their  posts  transportation  was  hard  to  obtain 
—  the  first  to  get  back  to  Vicksburg  would  be  the  first 
sent  North.  We  did  not  gain  anything  by  it,  for  we  had 
to  wait  for  steamboats  until  the  sixth  of  August,  with 
nothing  to  do  but  a  little  picket  duty  up  the  Yazoo. 

The  following  communication  was  read  at  Milldale,  rel 
ative  to  the  division  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  which  had 
been  serving  with  us  : 

"HEADQUARTERS  FIRST  DIVISION,  i6TH  A.  C. 

"JACKSON,  Miss.,  July  20,  1863. 
"  MAJOR-GENERAL  J.  G.  PARKE,  Com'd'g  gth  A.  C. : 

"Sir, — Your  order  transferring  our  division  to  the  Fif 
teenth  Army  Corps  is  just  received.  Permit  me,  in  behalf 
of  the  division  I  command,  to  tender  to  you  our  thanks 
for  your  uniform  kindness  to  us  and  for  the  interest  you 
have  manifested  in  our  welfare  during  our  temporary 
assignment  to  duty  with  your  corps.  I  am  happy  to 
assure  you  that  the  opportunity  offered  us  to  witness  the 
conduct  of  the  Eastern  troops  of  your  command  has  con 
vinced  us  that  they  possess  valor  and  discipline  which  we 
may  well  emulate.  Longer  association  would,  we  doubt 
not,  have  matured  and  strengthened  the  friendship  so  aus 
piciously  begun.  Our  best  wishes  for  your  welfare  and 
success  will  constantly  attend  you. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"WM.  S.  SMITH, 
"  Brig. -Gen.  Com'd'g  First  Division" 


•  MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  153 

Those  days  at  Milldale  were  too  warm  for  any  but  the 
most  moderate  exertion ;  usually,  about  four  in  the  after 
noon,  there  would  be  a  shower  of  more  or  less  violence, 
everything  remaining  wet  and  steaming  until  morning. 
The  deep  trench  we  had  dug  for  a  rifle-pit  on  the  summit 
of  our  hill  collected  such  a  body  of  water  that  finally  it 
burst  forth,  came  rushing  down  the  steep,  and  swept  away 
several  tents,  scattering  the  contents  all  abroad,  to  the  no 
small  discomfort  of  the  inmates  and  amusement  of  their 
comrades. 

Many  of  the  regiment  were  ill,  prostrated  by  the  climate, 
but  those  who  retained  health  enjoyed  themselves  in  a 
quiet  way.  From  the  cane-brakes  near  at  hand  long, 
thick  canes  were  collected  and  dragged  to  camp ;  these 
were  cut  into  proper  lengths,  wattled  together  and  sup 
ported  upon  crotched  stakes,  making  an  elastic  bedstead. 
Upon  this  were  spread  rolls  of  the  trailing  moss  from  the 
trees,  and,  high  above  all,  the  shelter  tent,  or  a  fly,  was 
spread  for  a  canopy,  making  a  luxurious  resting-place. 
The  magnolia  trees  were  in  blossom,  and  the  mocking 
bird  occasionally  favored  us  with  his  song.  The  contents 
of  the  mails  from  home  were  devoured  with  interest,  and 
ample  leisure  for  discussion  of  the  news  from  Port  Hudson, 
Gettysburg,  the  draft — with  lists  of  exempts,  for  disability, 
which  excited  no  little  merriment  —  and  the  return  home 
and  festive  receptions  of  the  nine  months'  men.  After 
reading  the  latter,  the  boys  adopted  a  saying,  often  repeated 
in  times  of  special  hardship,  "  We'll  make  this  all  right 
when  we  get  on  to  Boston  Common,"  to  which  the  em 
phatic  rejoinder  would  be,  "  That's  so  !  " 

One  of  the  companies  received  a  box  from  home,  which, 
intended  to  reach  them  in  the  past  winter  at  Falmouth, 
had  lain  buried  in  some  express  ofiice,  and  when  unearthed 
had  followed  us  down  here.  Considerable  curiosity  was 


154  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT,* 

manifested  to  see  its  contents.  When  opened  it  displayed 
a  lot  of  woollen  mittens  !  a  splendid  pair  for  every  man  in 
the  company,  from  the  good  ladies  at  home.  How  the  boys 
roared — could  fortune  have  timed  a  gift  more  inopportunely ! 

The  insatiable  ramblers,  who  are  found  in  every  company, 
explored  the  neighborhood  for  figs  and  peaches,  now  ripe 
and  plentiful.  Some,  even,  got  an  opportunity  to  visit 
Vicksburg,  and  examine  the  captured  works  and  spoils 
of  victory.  Boats,  crowded  with  paroled  Confederates, 
moved  up  the  Yazoo,  looking  as  gray  as  so  many  cargoes 
of  millers  —  good  natured,  for  the  most  part,  and  ready  for 
a  stop  to  be  put  to  the  fighting.  It  appeared  near  the  end 
to  us,  for  the  Mississippi  ran  unfettered  to  the  sea.  Gen 
eral  Lee  had  again  returned  discomfitted  to  Virginia,  and 
our  armies  were  in  good  condition  and  better  spirits  than 
at  any  time  since  the  war  began.  It  seemed  as  though  a 
general  forward  movement  would  crush  in  the  sides  of  the 
sham  edifice. 

The  worst  effect  of  the  situation  with  us  was  the  malaria 
and  fever.  Rations  of  quinine  and  whiskey  were  dealt  out 
as  regularly  as  roll-call.  Among  the  victims  to  disease  at 
Milldale  were :  Henry  Kiley,  of  Company  D ;  Sergeant 
Charles  E.  Gannett,  of  Company  H ;  Corporal  John  F. 
Spofford,  of  Company  F,  and  David  Phalan,  of  Company 
I.  These  found  graves  in  the  cathedral  shades  of  the 
Southern  forest,  where  the  drooping  moss  waves  its  ban 
ners  above,  and  the  magnolia  casts  its  pure  petals  upon 
their  resting  places.  Others:  George  H.  Bacon,  of  Com 
pany  A ;  John  H.  Birch  and  Samuel  G.  Wright,  of  Com 
pany  I,  died  on  the  passage  up  river,  or  at  the  hospitals 
along  the  return  route. 

The  small  number  of  officers  present  was  lessened  by 
the  departure  of  Captains  Pratt  and  Preston,  who  had 
accepted  promotions  —  the  former  to  lieutenant-colonel, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  155 

the  latter  to  major  —  in  General  Wild's  African  Brigade 
in  North  Carolina.  With  them  went  Corporal  Francis  A. 
Bicknell,  of  Company  H,  William  M.  Titcomb,  of  Company 
I,  and  Amory  O.  Balch,  of  Company  K,  who  had  received 
commissions  in  the  same  corps.  Doctor  Snow  was  brigade 
surgeon,  and  Quartermaster  Upton  was  on  the  staff  at 
corps  headquarters.  Quartermaster-Sergeant  Cutter  was 
acting  regimental  quartermaster.  Adjutant  Wales  received 
a  commission  as  major  of  the  regiment. 

Before  our  departure  General  Grant  issued  an  order 
containing  the  following :  "  In  returning  the  Ninth  Corps 
to  its  former  command,  it  is  with  pleasure  that  the  general 
commanding  acknowledges  its  valuable  services  in  the 
campaign  just  closed.  Arriving  at  Vicksburg  opportunely, 
taking  a  position  to  hold  at  bay  Johnston's  army,  then 
threatening  the  forces  investing  the  city,  it  was  ready  and 
eager  to  assume  the  offensive  at  any  moment.  After  the 
fall  of  Vicksburg,  it  formed  a  part  of  the  army  which 
drove  Johnston  from  his  position  near  the  Big  Black 
River  into  his  intrenchments  at  Jackson,  and,  after  a 
siege  of  eight  days,  compelled  him  to  fly  in  disorder  from 
the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  endurance,  valor  and  general 
good  conduct  of  the  Ninth  Corps  are  admired  by  all,  and 
its  valuable  cooperation  in  achieving  the  final  triumph  of 
the  campaign  is  gratefully  acknowledged  by  the  Army  of 
the  Tennessee.  Major-General  Parke  will  cause  the  dif 
ferent  regiments  and  batteries  of  his  command  to  inscribe 
upon  their  banners  and  guidons  'Vicksburg'  and  'Jack 
son.'  "  It  is  not  surprising  that  our  men  felt  grateful  to 
General  Grant,  and  rejoiced,  with  a  sort  of  fellow-feeling, 
in  the  subsequent  brilliant  campaigns  of  Grant  and  Sher 
man  and  their  gallant  armies. 

On  the -sixth  of  August  the  regiment  marched  down  to 
Haines's  Bluff  and  on  board  the  steamboat  Planet,  which 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

was  already  crowded  with  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire, 
Fifty-First  and  Seventy-Ninth  New  York,  and  a  company 
of  the  Forty-Fifth  Pennsylvania.  General  Welsh,  com 
manding  the  First  Division,  and  staff  were  also  on  board." 
The  general,  who  had  entered  the  service  as  colonel  of 
the  Forty-Fifth  Pennsylvania,  was  now  ill  with  a  disease 
—  incurred  in  the  campaign  —  which  proved  fatal. 

The  progress  up  the  river  was  similar  to  the  journey 
•down,  but  slower,  and  the  depth  of  water  less,  requiring 
careful  pilotage.  The  Planet  was  very  much  inferior  to 
the  old  Imperial,  and  our  quarters  were  uncomfortably 
crowded.  When  all  the  deck  space,  outside  and  in,  was 
occupied  there  was  hardly  room  for  each  man  to  lie  down, 
and  when  a  man  had  appropriated  his  six  feet  of  plank,  by 
depositing  his  pack  or  spreading  his  shelter  tent  over  it, 
he  kept  it  all  the  way,  rain  or  shine.  We  stopped  at 
Helena  and,  on  the  ninth,  at  Memphis  to  coal-up.  The 
very  sick  were  sent  ashore  to  Overtoil  Hospital.  The 
able-bodied  were  given  a  few  hours  ashore  to  stretch  their 
legs  ;  it  is  sad  to  relate  that  some,  having  discovered 
"tangle-foot"  whiskey,  returned  to  the  boat  with  legs  less 
steady  from  the  stretching.  The  boys  brought  back  all  the 
soft  bread  they  could  carry,  and  the  decks  were  stacked 
with  loaves.  The  bread  alone  —  no  one  thought  of  butter 
it  was  so  long  since  any  had  been  seen  —  was  a  welcome 
change  from  hard-tack  and  bacon-sides.  Excellent  coffee 
was  made  by  turning  the  steam  from  the  boiler  of  the 
steamboat  into  the  mixture  of  ground  coffee  and  cold 
water.  There  was  a  pretty  little  green  park,  or  square, 
in  Memphis,  with  a  monument  to  General  Jackson,  bearing 
the  motto,  "  The  Federal  Union  it  must  and  shall  be  pre 
served."  Some  Secessionist  had  chiselled  off  the  word 
"  Federal,"  with  which  attempted  improvement  the  face  of 
Jackson  did  not  appear  well  pleased. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  157 

We  reached  Cairo  at  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the 
twelfth,  and  at  6  P.  M.  took  the  box  cars  for  Cincinnati, 
passing  over  the  former  route  through  Centralia,  Sandoval 
and  Vincennes.  If  we  were  a  hard-looking  set  when  we 
first  passed  this  way,  we  were  a  deal  rougher  returning; 
but  our  welcome  along  the  road  was  more  hearty  than 
ever;  even  the  coarsest  food  of  every-clay  life,  offered 
along  the  way,  was  luxury  after  such  a  campaign.  Arrived 
at  Cincinnati,  August  14,  the  boys  said  they  felt  as  if  they 
had  got  home.  The  regiment  created  a  sensation  in  the 
streets  by  displaying  the  Confederate  flag  taken  at  Jackson, 
upside  clown  on  our  flag-staff,  and  the  jest  was  received 
with  unbounded  applause.  With  the  victories,  East  and 
West,  the  people  were  feeling  quite  happy. 

We  crossed  immediately  to  Covington,  and  went  into 
camp  near  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-Ninth  Ohio,  a 
six  months'  regiment,  with  whom  we  at  once  fraternized. 
From  them  the  boys  caught  several  Western  phrases,  which 
were  constantly  repeated,  and,  no  doubt,  they  did  the  same 
with  our  odd  sayings.  They  were  new  troops,  and  were 
astonished  to  see  the  dispatch  with  which  our  men  levelled 
a  board  fence,  cut  stakes  and  poles,  pitched  their  shelters, 
made  fires,  and  had  coffee  boiling  and  all  comfortable  in 
a  few  moments.  Pedlers  flocked  about  camp,  but  as  our 
pocket-books  were  empty  their  show  of  cakes  and  fruits 
was  more  tantalizing  than  gratifying.  To  save  fences,  the 
quartermaster  drew  wood  for  fuel  from  Government  for 
the  first  time  sipce  leaving  Massachusetts. 

On  the  fifteenth  a  detail  of  men  was  sent  to  assist  the 
officers  of  a  battery,  who,  by  the  disabling  of  their  men, 
had  been  left  helpless  with  their  guns,  caissons  and  horses 
upon  the  Cincinnati  side.  Florian  Matz,  of  Company  I, 
a  veteran  hostler,  proved  himself  a  useful  man  in  this 
movement. 


158  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Our  stay  near  the  great  city  was  brief.  A  guard  was 
required  to  accompany  a  train  of  two  hundred  wagons 
to  Hickman's  Bridge,  and  the  general,  to  our  vexation, 
selected  the  Thirty-Fifth  for  the  duty.  All  who  were 
unable  to  make  a  quick  march  —  some  seven  of  the  officers 
and  eighty  of  the  men — were  sent  to  Camp  Dennison,  or 
forwarded  by  rail  to  Nicholasville.  When  the  "invincibles" 
were  drawn  up  in  line  they  were  found  to  number  but  six 
officers  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  —  truly,  the 
climate  of  Mississippi  had  done  its  work  thoroughly!  The 
six  officers  were  Adjutant  Wales,  Assistant  Surgeon  Roche, 
Lieutenants  Ingell,  Pope,  Tobey  and  Meserve.  Captain 
Sims,  of  the  Fifty-First  New  York,  was  detailed  to  com 
mand,  but  relieved  next  day  by  Captain  Stuart,  whose  style 
of.  discipline  was  not  favorably  received  by  the  boys. 

The  first  day's  march  (August  18)  was  to  Snow's  Pond, 
fifteen  miles,  where  we  met  the  train ;  after  that,  the  men 
were  given  the  privilege  of  riding  or  walking  as  they  chose, 
and  they  took  turns  at  each  —  the  army  wagon  has  no 
springs,  and  riding  in  it  is  little  better  than  walking. 
Many  took  a  lesson  in  mule  driving,  and  improved  their 
acquaintance  with  that  near  relation  of  ours.  The  day's 
march  on  the  nineteenth  was  but  eleven  miles  to  Crit- 
tenden,  there  being  no  watering-place  for  some  distance 
ahead.  The  afternoon  was  spent  in  boiling  corn  and 
bacon,  and  devouring  as  much  as  each  man  could  stuff; 
as  good  an  antidote  for  malaria,  perhaps,  as  the  doctor 
could  furnish.  The  location  of  camp  was  upon  the  edge 
of  a  large  cornfield,  and  the  owner  seemed  to  have  no 
objection  to  contributing  a  part  of  his  crop  to  the  Union 
cause. 

On  the  twentieth,  thirty-one  miles  to  Big  Eagle  Creek. 
On  the  twenty-first  Captain  Stuart,  Sergeant  Hodgdon 
and  a  detail  of  men  captured  two  supposed  guerillas,  of 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  159 

whose  hiding  place  they  were  informed  by  a  colored  man ; 
these  prisoners  were  carried  to  Georgetown  and  delivered 
to  the  authorities ;  we  marched  eleven  miles  to  Dry  Run, 
and  camped  on  the  Osborne  estate,  Scott  County ;  one 
of  the  drivers  insulted  Captain  Stuart,  who  fired  his  pistol 
over  the  man's  head,  and  tied  him  up  under  guard  until 
morning.  On  the  twenty-second  we  went  twenty-one  miles 
out  of  our  way,  through  Georgetown  and  its  rural  surround 
ings,,  to  Paris,  to  load  the  wagons  with  forage.  Sunday, 
the  twenty-third,  we  rested ;  the  day  was  saddened  by  the 
funeral  of  John  Davis,  of  Company  H,  who  died  the  night 
before,  and  was  buried  at  Paris.  The  men  will  always 
remember  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Griffith,  of  Paris,  who 
replenished  their  stock  of  tobacco  on  credit,  trusting  to 
obtain  payment  at  our  future  camp,  when  the  regiment 
should  be  paid  off. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  we  made  twenty  miles  to  the  ponds 
beyond  Lexington,  Adjutant  Wales  stopping  in  the  city  to 
get  mustered  in  as  major.  On  the  twenty-fifth  the  train 
passed  through  Nicholasville,  and  the  regiment  parted 
from  it,  three  miles  beyond,  at  a  place  afterwards  called 
Camp  Parke,  where  Lieutenant  Mirick,  acting  assistant 
quartermaster  on  General  Fry's  staff,  located  our  camp 
ground.  It  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  again  pitch  our  shelter 
tents  in  correct  regimental  form  in  the  groves  of  Old  Ken 
tucky.  At  evening  our  new  major  —  Wales  —  came  into 
camp ;  there  was  a  cry,  "  Fall  in,  Thirty-Fifth ! "  The 
men  rallied  and  gave  him  three  hearty  cheers.  Some 
unfortunates  were  almost  immediately  detailed  to  return 
to  Covington,  under  Captain  Rapelji,  for  another  train. 
We  were  in  danger  of  earning  more  honors  as  mule  drivers 
than  we  coveted. 

The  Thirty-Fifth  was  the  first  of  our  brigade  to  arrive 
upon  the  ground.  The  First  Division  was  in  camp  south 


l6o  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

of  us,  and  was  suffering  extremely  from  the  debilitating 
results  of  the  Southern  campaign  ;  more  even  than  our 
division.  Our  trip  hither  with  the  train  and  constant 
activity  had  set  up  our  regiment  well,  and  the  arrival  of 
the  paymaster,  Major  Walker,  with  greenbacks  and  the 
quartermaster's  supplies  of  new  clothing,  changed  the 
appearance  of  things  wonderfully  in  a  few  days.  The 
rust  of  the  Mississippi  rains  was  scraped  from  the  gun 
barrels  and  sword-scabbards,  blacking  brushes  made  their 
appearance,  belt-plates  got  a  polishing,  and  when  inspection 
day  came  around  on  the  thirtieth  our  major  complimented 
the  men  for  their  trim  appearance ;  and,  if  he  approved, 
the  regiment  must  have  deserved  the  commendation. 

Lieutenant  Meserve  was  adjutant,  and  Lieutenants 
Mirick  and  Tobey,  successively,  quartermaster  in  this 
camp.  Colonel  Carruth  visited  camp,  but  was  too  ill 
to  assume  command ;  and,  indeed,  he  never  seemed  quite 
to  recover  his  old  energetic  ways  after  the  Vicksburg  trip. 
His  health,  thereafter,  was  so  broken  that  the  hardships  of 
subsequent  campaigns  were  too  great,  generally,  for  him 
to  endure.  An  elegant  sword  and  belt,  which  had  been 
subscribed  for  by  the  non-commissioned  officers  at  the 
time  of  his  promotion  to  the  colonelcy,  was  exhibited  and 
presented  to  him  at  Camp  Parke.  Lieutenant  Colonel 
King  called  at  our  camp,  and  commanded  at  dress-parade 
on  the  evening  of  September  i  ;  he  was  on  detached  ser 
vice  at  Lexington  at  this  time.  As  for  the  "invincibles," 
having  now  only  the  lightest  camp  duty  to  attend  while 
the  sick  and  convalescent  were  recuperating,  they  led  a 
merry  life,  as  who  would  not  in  such  a  country  with  money 
in  pocket.  Big  dinners  of  pork  and  cabbage  or  boiled 
fowl,  or  even  citizen  hospitality,  were  enjoyed  with  keen 
appetites,  well  knowing  that  the  time  for  such  things  would 
soon  end  if  past  experience  was  to  be  consulted. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  l6l 

Men  who  had  been  left  in  Kentucky  sick  or  detailed 
now  rejoined,  full  of  accounts  of  John  Morgan's  raid  north 
of  the  Ohio,  between  July  8  and  July  27  —  the  days  of  our 
trip  out  to  Jackson  and  back.  Morgan  came  to  heavy 
grief,  and  was  captured  with  most  of  his  men  after  a 
spirited  chase  by  our  cavalry,  which,  under  able  leaders, 
was  now  picking  up  in  a  way  which  soon  made  it  more 
than  a  match  for  the  Confederate  horse.  We  learned, 
also,  that  General  Burnside,  finding  the  summer  slipping 
away  and  our  return  to  duty  with  him  delayed,  had  started 
for  East  Tennessee,  with  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry 
and  the  Twenty-Third  Corps,  we  to  follow  as  soon  as  men 
enough  recovered  to  make  it  worth  while. 

Looking  back  over  the  campaign  in  Mississippi,  it  forms, 
to  those  who  were  not  attacked  by  the  diseases  of  the  cli 
mate,  one  of  the  pleasantest  chapters  of  the  war.  It  was 
laid  among  scenes  where  everything  was  novel  and  inter 
esting;  and,  while  upon  it,  we  enjoyed  a  share  of  the 
success  which  accompanied  Grant  and  Sherman  from  that 
time  forward.  We  had  a  taste  of  the  wine  of  victory,  and 
began  to  see  the  dawning  of  a  successful  end  of  the  war, 
of  which,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  political  strife  and 
inefficiency  about  Washington,  it  was  hard  to  continue 
hopeful. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

WINTER    IN    EAST    TENNESSEE CAMPBELL'S    STATION     AND 

KNOXVILLE,    1863-64. 

HE  who  breathes  the  air  of  mountains  imbibes  the 
love  of  freedom  with  every  inspiration.  The  people 
inhabiting  the  hills  and  valleys  of  East  Tennessee  had 
been  distinguished  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  for  their 
intelligent  understanding  of  its  causes  and  for  their  strong 
attachment  to  the  Union.  For  two  long  years  they  had 
been  subject  to  the  odious  rule  of  the  Confederacy,  and, 
though  constantly  and  cruelly  harried,  their  young  men 
conscripted  or  driven  across  the  mountains,  their  old  men 
imprisoned  and  shamefully  abused,  they  had  never  given 
up  hope.  The  persecutions  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters 
were  not  more  severe  nor  more  full  of  heart-rending  inci 
dent.  President  Lincoln  had  long  been  solicitous  for  their 
relief.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  General  Burnside  and 
the  Twenty-Third  Corps  to  carry  the  old  flag  back  to  East 
Tennessee,  there  to  remain,  and  it  was  our  happiness  to 
assist  in  making  its  presence  there  permanently  secure. 

The  general  left  Crab  Orchard  August  21  —  a  body  of 
cavalry  only  making  a  feint  upon  the  Cumberland  Gap 
road  —  while  the  main  army,  largely  mounted  infantry, 
bore  away  south  through  Montgomery,  Tenn.,  passing 
into  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee  by  way  of  Kingston, 
and  so  upon  Knoxville  from  the  south,  September  3,  and 
taking  Cumberland  Gap  in  rear ;  whereupon  General  Fra- 
zier,  the  Confederate  commander,  surrendered  with  about 


163  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

twenty-five  hundred  men  and  eleven  pieces  of  artillery. 
Upon  the  appearance  of  the  Union  army  near  Kingston 
the  enemy's  general  —  Buckner — had  fled,  burning  the 
high  railroad  bridge  at  Loudon. 

While  Burnside  was  making  this  advance,  General  Rose- 
crans  occupied  Chattanooga,  September  9,  and  was  con 
centrating  in  the  valley  of  Chickamauga  Creek,  in  front  of 
General  Bragg.  The  Confederate  authorities  had  sent 
General  Longstreet's  Corps  south  to  assist  Bragg,  fore 
seeing  that  if  Rosecrans  were  thoroughly  beaten  Burnside 
must  fly  also.  General  Halleck,  at  Washington,  became 
frightened  at  Rosecrans's  danger,  and  telegraphed  to  Burn- 
side,  September  13  —  received  by  him  on  the  sixteenth  — 
"  It  is  important  that  all  the  available  force  of  your  com 
mand  be  pushed  forward  into  East  Tennessee.  So  long 
as  you  hold  Tennessee,  Kentucky  is  perfectly  safe,"  etc., 
and  ordering  him  to  connect  with  Rosecrans.  General 
Burnsicle's  troops  were  over  one  hundred  and  twenty- five 
miles  from  Chattanooga,  but  were  started  down  the  valley 
on  the  eighteenth.  On  the  nineteenth  and  twentieth,  how 
ever,  Rosecrans  was  attacked,  the  sanguinary  battle  of 
Chickamauga  was  fought,  and  but  for  General  Thomas  the 
Union  army  would  have  been  completely  routed ;  as  it 
was,  Chattanooga  was  held,  though  almost  in  a  state  of 
siege. 

All  these  movements  were  of  interest  to  us,  because 
they  decided  our  whereabouts  for  the  winter ;  had  Chicka 
mauga  been  a  Union  victory  we,  probably,  should  have 
lain  in  winter  quarters  in  Kentucky.  The  First  Division 
started  for  Tennessee  about  the  tenth  of  September.  On 
the  seventh  we,  also,  had  orders;  but  General  Grifrin,  com 
manding  the  division,  protested  that  only  two  thousand 
men  were  yet  fit  for  duty  in  the  whole  Second  Division, 
and  the  order  was  countermanded.  The  regiments  were 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  164 

assigned  to  different  posts  in  Kentucky :  the  Fifty-First 
New  York  at  Camp  Nelson,  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania 
and  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  to  Crab  Orchard,  and  the 
Eleventh  New  Hampshire  to  London  on  the  road  to  Cum 
berland  Gap.  The  Twenty-First  Massachusetts,  not  having 
been  in  the  Mississippi  campaign,  left  Crab  Orchard  for 
Tennessee  about  the  sixteenth,  with  the  Forty-Eighth  Penn 
sylvania  and  Second  Maryland  as  the  First  Brigade  of  our 
division. 

We  left  Camp  Parke  and  marched  for  our  post  at  Crab 
Orchard  on  the  ninth  of  September,  Captain  Gibson  in 
command  —  Major  Wales  and  Quartermaster  Upton  being 
away  on  leave.  The  men,  for  thirty  cents  each,  hired  a 
farmer  to  carry  their  knapsacks  the  first  afternoon,  eleven 
miles,  to  Camp  Dick  Robinson,  passing  Camp  Nelson  and 
the  picturesque  scenery  about  Hickman's  Bridge  and  the 
Kentucky  River  for  the  third  time.  The  major  overtook 
the  icgiment  next  day  on  the  road  to  Lancaster,  where  we 
camped  on  a  hill-side  beyond  the  town,  after  a  dusty  march. 
On  the  eleventh  we  again  reached  the  Springs  beyond  Crab 
Orchard.  This  town  is  a  noted  spa  or  mineral  springs, 
much  resorted  to  by  invalids  and  pleasure  seekers  in  peace 
times ;  while  we  were  there  we  had  the  use  of  the  waters 
pretty  much  to  ourselves. 

Here  a  lot  of  promotions  was  announced  :  First  Lieu 
tenants  Lyon,  Hudson,  Mirick  and  Stickney  became  cap 
tains  ;  Second  Lieutenants  Meserve,  Tobey,  Washburn  and 
Gottlieb  became  first  lieutenants  —  the  first  named  lieu 
tenant  acting  as  adjutant,  the  second  as  quartermaster. 
Also  Sergeant-Major  Berry  and  Sergeant  Creasey  became 
first  lieutenants;  Austin  J.  White  became  sergeant-major. 
At  this  time  Doctor  Snow  was  surgeon  and  Upton  quarter 
master  of  the  Second  Division. 

On   the  fifteenth  of    September  we  were   again   under 


165  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

orders  for  Knoxville,  again  countermanded,  and,  instead, 
we  moved  to  the  elevated  fields  of  the  Fair  Grounds,  east 
of  the  town,  at  first  camping  near  the  covered  arena,  after 
wards  within  the  circle  of  the  race-track,  upon  broad,  level 
grounds  —  the  track,  just  one  mile  around,  tempting  the 
men  to  all  kinds  of  trials  of  speed.  This  was  called  Camp 
Carruth.  After  orders  had  been  thus  twice  countermanded 
the  men  made  up  their  minds  that  Crab  Orchard  would  be 
our  winter  quarters,  and  began  to  build  huts,  for  which  the 
ruinous  fencing  of  the  enclosure  furnished  inviting  mate 
rials.  Some  were  doubters,  and  shook  their  heads  at  the 
notion  of  winter  quarters ;  they  pegged  their  tents  close 
to  the  ground  —  to  keep  out  the  winds  —  stole  what  hay 
and  straw  they  could  for  warm  bedding,  and  kept  their 
knapsacks  always  packed.  During  the  whole  winter  a 
great  source  of  amusement  was  the  sanguine  hopes  of  the 
hut-builders,  always  disappointed,  and  the  cynical  com 
ments  of  the  doubters.  The  former,  sometimes,  out  of 
mere  bravado,  kept  on  logging-up,  when  the  advance  troops 
were  already  falling  back,  saying,  no  one  knows  how  long 
we  shall  stop  here,  and  plain  signs  are  not  to  be  trusted 
in  our  case  at  least. 

Captain  Gibson  was  appointed  provost-marshal  in  the 
town,  and  Lieutenant  Berry  had  command  of  the  provost- 
guard.  On  the  eighteenth  the  twenty-five  hundred  pris 
oners  from  the  Gap  passed  through  town  on  their  way 
North  ;  they  were  broad-faced,  sturdy-looking  fellows.  In 
the  town  there  was  some  waving  of  handkerchiefs  from 
upper  windows,  and  the  prisoners  cheered ;  but  there  was 
no  violent  demonstration  of  feeling.  They  were  in  charge 
of  the  Eighty-Sixth  and,  our  old  friends,  the  One  Hundred 
and  Twenty-Ninth  Ohio.  We  had  seen  so  many  gray-coats 
under  guard  during  the  summer,  a  few  thousand  more 
seemed  a  matter  of  course  —  the  Confederacy  was  caving 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  1 66 

in  rapidly ;  then  came  the  news  of  Chickamauga,  exagger 
ated  into  a  crushing  disaster,  and  we  felt  blue ;  the  doubt 
ers  chuckled,  they  foresaw  now  that  the  comfortable  huts 
would  soon  be  vacated. 

While  at  this  camp  Adjutant  Meserve  had  a  narrow 
escape  while  racing  with  Major  Wales  and  Assistant 
Surgeon  Roche,  his  horse  becoming  unmanageable  at  the 
sight  of  a  dead  mule,  and  throwing  the  rider,  who  was 
dragged  some  distance,  fortunately  without  other  injuries 
than  severe  bruises.  Naaman  Torrey,  of  Company  H, 
died  at  the  post  hospital,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in 
the  village  cemetery,  with  military  honors,  the  whole  regi 
ment  attending ;  he  will  be  better  remembered  as  "  Father 
Torrey." 

The  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-Fifth  received 
the  anticipated  order  for  "  over  the  mountains "  on  the 
thirtieth  of  September,  eight  days'  rations  to  be  carried 
by  each  man  in  knapsack  and  haversack,  which  certainly 
looked  like  preparation  for  a  hungry  land.  Captain  Gibson 
was  ill  in  town,  and,  consequently,  had  to  be  left  behind ; 
Captain  Blanchard,  next  senior,  now  recommissioned,  joined 
the  regiment  and  took  command.  The  number  of  guns, 
including  provost-guard,  was  only  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  at  the  start,  so  many  men  were  sick  or  detailed. 

The  march  over  the  mountains  was  worth  making  for 
the  pleasure  of  it  alone.  The  road  led  through  a  wild 
country  abounding  in  natural  beauties  and  wonders.  The 
month  was  October,  the  harvest  season  of  the  year,  and, 
like  our  tramp  along  the  Blue  Ridge  the  autumn  previous, 
the  route  was  among  hills  glowing  with  resplendent  foliage 
or  empurpled  by  distance.  The  way  was  enlivened  by  the 
drum  and  fife,  or  the  bugle  echoing  from  the  sides  of  the 
hills,  calling  the  halt,  or  the  more  unwelcome  signal  for 
forward  movement.  Just  before  the  start  there  was  an 


167  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

alarm  in  camp,  while  the  regiment  was  upon  fatigue  duty, 
mending  the  road  towards  Mount  Vernon,  and  Companies 
G  and  I  were  hurried  back  to  quarters ;  but  the  expected 
scrimmage  with  guerillas  did  not  come  off. 

The  column  left  Crab  Orchard  on  the  second  of  October, 
passing  over  what  appeared  at  that  time  the  roughest  road 
we  had  ever  seen.  One  of  our  wagons  and  one  of  the 
Fifty-First  got  capsized  during  the  afternoon ;  others  stuck 
in  the  mud;  the  work  of  the  teamsters  was  harder  than 
that  of  the  foot  soldiers ;  the  march  was  twelve  miles 
nearly  to  Mount  Vernon.  The  second  day  we  made  but 
five  miles,  passing  through  the  town  and  over  a  moun 
tain,  and  going  into  camp  near  a  big  spring  —  a  full  stream, 
or  brook,  issuing  from  the  mouth  of  a  cavern  in  the  hill 
side.  Many  of  the  men  went  into  this  cave  without  finding 
the  end;  but,  being  without  guides  or  proper  lanterns,  it 
was  rather  a  hazardous  exploration.  The  following  day 
(the  fourth)  was  a  hard  one  for  the  teams,  climbing  over 
Wild  Cat  Mountain  —  the  scene  of  several  conflicts  early 
in  the  war,  the  lines  of  earthworks  still  visible.  For  the 
sake  of  the  draught  animals  we  went  into  camp  early,  at 
Little  Rockcastle  River,  and  the  men  spent  the  afternoon 
hunting  for  pigs  and  persimmons.  On  the  fifth  there  was 
continued  heavy  work  for  teams,  at  one  place  a  steep  ascent 
for  a  mile  required  the  use  of  ten  mules  to  haul  each  wagon. 
The  boys,  however,  felt  frisky,  and  the  mountain  air  was 
so  bracing  that,  a  mile  or  so  before  getting  into  camp  at 
Pitman's,  near  London,  they  must  needs  have  a  race  with 
the  artillery.  The  men  set  up  a  shout,  the  drivers  whipped 
up  their  horses,  and  away  we  went  on  the  run,  "  Hi !  —  hi! 
—  hi!"  through  the  pitch-pine  woods  and  over  the  sandy 
road  into  the  camp  of  the  Eleventh  New  Hampshire,  in  a 
way  to  scare  off  whatever  of  malaria  still  hung  about  us  — 
that  was  a  jolly  race !  The  men  of  the  Eleventh  were  glad 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  1 68 

to  see  the  old  brigade  in  such  high  spirits.  We  passed  on 
the  road  seventy-five  Confederate  prisoners  for  Camp  Nel 
son,  under  guards  from  the  Eighty-Sixth  Ohio. 

The  regiments  had  a  rest  of  several  days  here  while 
waiting  for  batteries  to  come  up;  they  were  Benjamin's, 
"E,"  Second  United  States  Artillery,  and  Edwards,  "L" 
and  "M,"  Third  United  States  Artillery — both  old  friends. 
Major  Wales  and  Lieutenant  Washburn  joined,  the  latter 
being  appointed  permanent  adjutant,  a  position  which  he 
held  to  the  end  of  our  service,  though  absent  on  staff  duty 
or  otherwise  most  of  the  time  ;  while  he  was  away  Lieu 
tenant  Meserve  acted  as  adjutant  until  promoted  captain. 
Rations  were  all  consumed,  and  the  men  were  glad  to  fill 
up  their  haversacks  from  the  accumulated  surplus  of  the 
Eleventh,  who  had  been  here  for  some  time.  The  Eleventh 
was  left  at  London  to  follow  on  with  a  supply  train ;  the 
Fifty-First  and  Thirty-Fifth  proceeded  on  the  tenth  to 
Laurel  Creek.  This  was  the  day  of  the  battle  of  the  First 
Division  and  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts  of  our  old 
brigade  at  Blue  Springs  near  Bull  Gap,  of  which  there  was 
a  good  deal  said  when  we  first  reached  Knoxville.  The 
day  following  the  roads  improved,  and  we  made  twenty 
miles,  to  beyond  Barboursville  on  the  Cumberland  River, 
here  a  wide,  clear  stream,  with  banks  overhung  with 
foliage. 

On  the  twelfth  of  October  our  march  was  sixteen  miles 
to  the  ford  of  the  Cumberland,  situated  in  the  midst  of 
scenery  worthy  of  an  artist's  pencil.  The  beautiful  river, 
enclosed  by  wooded  mountains,  affected  the  senses  with  an 
indescribable  charm.  But  the  interest  with  us  was  more 
practical ;  there  was,  of  course,  no  bridge,  and  this  was 
our  first  experience  in  fording  a  wide  river ;  the  question 
was,  whether  it  would  be  better  to  try  to  cross  barefoot 
and  bruise  still  more,  upon  the  rough  stones,  the  feet 


169  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

already  raw  with  marching,  or  wear  shoes  and  have  wet  feet 
for  twenty-four  hours  afterwards.  It  is  a  sufficient  answer 
to  say  that,  whichever  method  was  tried,  the  experimenter 
wished  afterwards  that  he  had  adopted  the  other.  A  regi 
ment  fording  a  river  offers  a  picturesque  foreground  to  fine 
scenery,  and  if  any  of  the  men  slip  into  holes  the  picture 
becomes  very  lively.  We  camped  beyond  the  ford,  and 
had  an  opportunity  to  dry  clothes.  Mountaineers  came 
in  with  chestnuts,  and  when  we  complained  of  the  high 
price  declared  the  nuts  worth  it,  for  they  had  to  cut  down 
the  trees  to  pick  them,  whereupon  we  asked,  with  inquiring 
minds,  if  that  was  the  usual  way  of  gathering  fruit  in  that 
country.  The  next  day's  tramp  over  Three  Log  Mountains 
will  be  remembered  for  the  down-pour  of  rain  and  the  slip 
pery  roads ;  the  wet  clay  offered  so  little  foothold  that  the 
ordinary  exertion  of  marching  was  doubled.  That  night 
we  pitched  tents  in  a  cold  rain  turning  to  snow,  but  within 
sight  of  Cumberland  Gap. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  October  the  long  train  of  infantry, 
artillery  and  trains  climbed  the  winding  ascent  to  the 
famous  Gap  —  a  depression  in  the  mountain  range  through 
which  the  road  found  a  passage.  These  Cumberland 
Mountains  are  a  continuation  of  the  Virginia  mountain 
system,  but  on  a  grander  scale,  and  the  country  about 
them  is  wilder  and  more  difficult  by  far.  The  summits 
above  the  pass  were  fortified,  and  appeared  impregnable 
to  the  assaults  of  every  foe  but  starvation.  To  give  eclat 
to  our  passage  Parson  Brownlow  appeared,  on  the  way  to 
his  home  in  Knoxville,  in  company  with  his  daughter,  in  a 
carriage — the  only  vehicle  of  the  kind  we  met  on  the 
journey.  He  was  an  old  hero  in  our  eyes,  and  when  he 
got  out  and  walked  up  through  the  pass  the  regiment 
cheered,  while  the  band  played  patriotic  tunes  —  it  was  a 
triumphal  welcome  home  to  the  redoubtable  patriot.  The 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  1 70 

boundary  lines  of  three  States  —  Kentucky,  Tennessee  and 
Virginia  —  meet  in  the  centre  of  an  immense  marking- 
stone,  upon  which  many  of  the  boys  took  a  seat,  to  be 
able  to  say  that  they  had  been  in  all  three  States  at  once. 
The  view  from  the  top  was  over  an  endless  sea  of  billowy, 
wooded  hills,  with  few  signs  of  human  culture  or  habi 
tation. 

Coming  down  the  south  of  the  Gap  we  crossed  Powell's 
River — a  fine  stream,  tributary  to  the  Clinch  River  —  upon 
a  bridge,  just  beyond  which  one  of  the  men,  stepping  into 
a  log-house  for  a  coal  of  fire  to  light  his  pipe,  came  flying 
out,  pursued  by  an  old  hag,  in  appearance  a  very  witch  of 
the  mountains  —  probably  an  insane  person  —  her  long 
white  hair  streaming  behind  her.  At  Tazewell  we  halted 
over  for  a  day,  the  road  being  very  difficult  for  the  teams. 
Apples  and  fresh  pork  were  abundant ;  the  camp  was 
adorned  with  piles  of  the  rosy  fruit,  which  the  boys 
brought  in  for  the  pleasure  of  looking  at  them,  for  they 
could  not  all  be  eaten  nor  carried  along.  The  branches 
of  the  trees  about  the  camp-fires  were  hung  with  quarters 
of  unlucky  pigs,  who  had  died  of  blue-pill  or  the  prod  of 
a  soldier's  bayonet,  and  were  now  seasoning  for  a  savory 
roast.  Those  of  the  regiment  who  were  disposed  towards 
mild  drinks  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  mellifluous  sor 
ghum  molasses,  while  those  who  claimed  to  be  iron-clads 
tested  their  capacity  with  raw  apple-jack  just  from  the 
still. 

On  the  sixteenth,  in  a  heavy  rain,,  we  forded  Clinch 
River,  a  branch  of  the  Tennessee,  the  water  clear  and 
ice-cold,  knee-deep.  It  was  a  pretty  scene  to  watch 
Captain  Ingell  leading  across  the  wide  stream,  the  rain 
drops  dripping  from  his  hat  and  rubber  coat,  the  water 
gurgling  around  his  massive  legs,  his  steaming  puffs  for 
breath,  and  pointed  remarks  upon  the  situation  adding 


171  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

force  to  the  whole.  On  the  further  bank  the  regiments 
went  into  camp  upon  the  hills  in  an  upland  cotton-field  — 
the  cotton  still  hanging  in  the  bolls  —  where  blazing  fires 
restored  the  circulation  to  benumbed  members.  Next  day 
we  plodded  along  with  difficulty  over  a  rough  road,  where 
the  brook,  which  usually  accompanies  the  mountain  roads, 
was  not  satisfied  with  either  side  of  the  valley,  but  crossed 
and  recrossed  the  track  continually,  much  to  the  discom 
fiture  of  shoe  leather  and  army  socks,  and  so  on  through 
Maynardsville,  where  the  Union  flag  was  flying.  Passing 
the  village  of  Gravestown  on  the  eighteenth,  over  a  road 
deep  with  soft,  sticky  mud,  the  rail  fences  before  the  houses 
were  gay  with  little  red  flags  —  signs  of  small-pox  within; 
their  hospitalities  were,  therefore,  not  sought,  in  spite  of 
the  drizzle  and  dreariness  without  doors.  At  night  we 
camped  within  four  miles  of  Knoxville  and  received  letters 
from  home,  which  had  preceded  us  by  another  route.  On 
the  following  morning  (October  19)  we  reached  the  suburbs 
of  the  city,  and  pitched  our  shelter  tents  south  of  Second 
Creek,  near  the  engine-house  of  the  East  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky  Railroad,  upon  a  field  afterwards  occupied  by 
the  Confederate  picket  line. 

The  inarch  of  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  over  such 
rough  roads  had  given  the  boys  troublesome  appetites, 
which  they  were  destined  to  keep  keen  during  the  winter. 
Captain  Rapelji,  brigade  quartermaster,  happening  to  pass 
the  camp,  was  saluted  with  such  loud  cries  of  "Hard-tack! 
hard-tack ! "  that  he  took  offence  and  complained  of  the 
insult,  whereupon  the  major  ordered  a  moonlight  inspec 
tion,  not  of  stomachs,  but  of  equipments,  as  a  punishment 
—  the  preparation  for  inspection  after  a  long  march,  pol 
ishing  guns,  brasses,  etc.,  is  no  light  matter — and  he  also 
improved  the  occasion  to  censure  the  shouters  for  their 
bad  manners.  On  the  twentieth,  the  cavalry  of  the  depart- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  172 

ment,  both  up  and  down  the  valley,  met  with  such  severe 
handling  that  it  was  drawn  nearer  to  Knoxville;  so  we 
appeared  to  have  arrived  just  in  time  for  the  fun  ahead. 

During  the  following  two  days  an  opportunity  was  given 
to  most  of  the  men  to  visit  the  town,  which  they  found 
much  better  built  and  more  city-like  than  they  anticipated. 
There  were  large  railroad  stations  and  freight  houses, 
hotels,  markets,  a  university,  asylum  for  deaf  and  dumb, 
numerous  churches  and  schools,  and  street  lamps  for  gas ; 
but  the  gasworks  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Confederates. 
The  town  was  not  fortified,  but  situated  upon  hills  com 
manding  the  surrounding  country  to  the  north,  and  pro 
tected  by  the  Holston  River  and  high  hills  on  the  south. 

The  higher  powers  seemed  to  be  uncertain  of  the  future, 
to  judge  from  their  conduct  towards  us,  for  we  got  daily 
orders  to  pack  up  and  be  ready  to  march,  countermanded 
again  as  often,  until  the  repetition  became  vexatious. 
Finally,  at  dark  on  the  twenty-second,  the  regiment  started 
for  the  city,  only  to  enjoy  a  comfortable  sleep  upon  the 
platform  of  the  freight-house  at  the  station.  It  rained  in 
the  morning,  and  the  troops  crowded  into  the  station, 
where  fires  were  built  between  the  railroad  ties,  and  the 
men  gathered  about  with  steaming  overcoats.  Mingled 
with  us  was  a  lot  of  East  Tennessee  cavalry,  wild-looking 
fellows,  like  Texas  Rangers ;  they  had  their  saddles  with 
them  and  were  waiting  for  remounts.  A  cooky-shop  stood 
open  for  trade  in  gingerbread  and  apples ;  the  first  and  last 
time  we  saw  a  huckster's  stand  in  that  country.  The  weather 
was  dull  and  autumnal,  and  with  the  rather  dilapidated 
surroundings  of  the  place  oppressed  the  spirits.  Chicka- 
mauga  still  weighed  upon  the  mind ;  the  rails  we  were 
sitting  upon  ran  directly  to  it,  distant  some  one  hundred 
miles  south-west,  down  the  great  valley  of  East  Tennessee. 

In  the  afternoon  the  box  cars  we  were  waiting  for  arrived, 


173  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  in  a  pouring  rain  we  ran  slowly  down  to  the  Tennessee 
River,  opposite  Loudon,  some  thirty  miles,  getting  out  at 
the  abutment  of  the  high  railroad  bridge,  the  stone  piers 
still  standing  but  superstructure  destroyed  as  above  men 
tioned.  It  was  dark,  and  scrambling  through  the  mud  to 
the  hills  south  of  the  railroad  we  received  the  usual  sar 
castic  order,  "Make  yourselves  comfortable  for  the  night!" 
and  with  fence-rails  soaking  wet,  and  with  difficulty  ignited, 
we  boiled  the  indispensable  coffee,  rigged  some  sort  of 
shelter,  and  sank  to  sleep  in  soft  beds  of  mire. 

After  one  day  of  full  rations  —  a  roll  of  soft  bread  —  the 
next  day  but  half  the  quantity  appeared,  and  we  were 
informed  that  in  future  half-rations  only  would  be  issued, 
which  meant  an  ever-present  craving  sense  of  hunger  for 
the  rest  of  the  campaign.  As  there  was  no  occupation  for 
a  day  or  two,  and  as  it  was  of  no  use  sitting  about  the  fires 
guessing  what  movements  were  afoot,  the  men  started  out 
hunting  for  "belly-timber."  One  device  was  to  make  bread 
of  the  shorts,  bran  or  middlings,  which  could  be  obtained 
in  Loudon,  although  flour  or  bread  could  not.  As  to  the 
success  of  this,  we  advise  any  one  who  wishes  to  enjoy  a 
stunning  headache  to  try  bread  made  of  pure  shorts.  The 
cavalry,  supported  by  infantry,  were  somewhere  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Tennessee,  towards  a  place  called  Phil 
adelphia,  and  rumors  of  the  defeat  of  Wolford's  Cavalry, 
alluded  to  above,  found  their  way  into  camp.  Distant 
cannonading  could  be  heard,  but  what  it  meant  was  none 
of  our  business,  at  least  so  we  were  told ;  it  was  slow  work 
for  inquisitive  Yankees  to  learn  to  leave  to  the  general  the 
planning  and  management  of  the  campaign.  So  complex 
are  extended  field  movements  and  so  narrow  the  field  of 
view  of  each  soldier,  that  what  seems  to  him  confusion 
may  be  well-arranged  combination,  apparent  defeat  may 
be  success,  or  vice  versa;  consequently,  the  old  soldier 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  174 

learns  to  distrust  first  appearances  and  wait  for  orders,- 
which  constitutes  his  "steadiness"  as  compared  with  the 
new  recruit. 

However,  on  the  twenty-eighth  the  mystery  was  solved, 
the  infantry  followed  by  the  cavalry  came  back  to  the 
north  bank  of  the  river,  and  four  regiments,  including 
ours,  were  detailed  to  take  up  the  pontoon-bridge,  which 
was  a  home-made  affair  of  box  boats.  The  further  end  of 
the  bridge  was  cut  loose,  and  the  boats  were  swung  to  our 
side,  dragged  out  by  mules,  and,  with  much  heavy  lifting, 
the  materials  were  loaded  upon  flat  cars  and  sent  towards 
Knoxville.  A  locomotive  and  cars  had  been  taken,  piece 
meal,  to  the  south  bank,  and  put  together  in  running  order; 
there  was  not  time  to  bring  them  back,  and  they  must  be 
destroyed.  A  full  head  of  steam  was  gathered  in  the 
engine,  the  cars  hitched  on,  and  started  for  the  brink  of 
the  abyss  where  the  bridge  had  been  —  the  driver  jumping 
off  and  leaving  the  train  to  its  fate.  We  were  busy  upon 
the  river  bank  when  the  train  was  heard  approaching  the 
abutment  high  above  us ;  all  looked  up  and  watched  for 
the  catastrophe.  On  came  the  engine,  roaring  like  a  wild 
bull ;  it  reached  the  abutment,  leaped  into  the  air,  and 
with  its  cars  plunged  headlong  into  the  river;  the  agitated 
waters  foamed  and  raged,  then  flowed  on  calmly  as  before. 
It  seemed  as  if  we  had  witnessed  the  drowning  of  a  friend. 

Soon  after,  a  few  mounted  men  in  gray  appeared  upon 
the  southern  bank,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce.  Captain 
McKibben  with  some  companions  crossed  in  a  boat  and 
returned  with  despatches  for  General  Burnside,  of  which 
we  did  not  learn  the  contents ;  but  it  was  apparent  that 
the  Confederates  were  gradually  narrowing  our  field  of 
operations.  They  were,  however,  in  no  immediate  haste 
to  cross  the  Tennessee,  for  next  day  we  retired  quietly 
about  six  miles  to  the  plain  about  Lenoir's  Station,  and 


175  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

went  into  camp,  with  the  information  that  we  might  re 
main  there  all  winter,  or  not ;  it  would  depend  upon  the 
movements  of  the  enemy.  A  large  oven  for  a  government 
bakery  was  commenced  at  the  station,  an  undertaking 
which  implied  permanency,  and  the  hut-builders  were  en 
couraged  to  commence  again,  drawing  lumber  from  a  ruined 
mill  on  the  Kingston  road.  General  Burnside  stopped  a 
few  clays  in  camp,  and  all  things  quieting  down  he  re 
turned  to  Knoxville.  The  little  Army  of  the  Ohio  —  for 
that  was  the  proper  name  of  Burnside's  command  —  was 
posted  with  White's  division  of  the  Twenty-Third  Corps  at 
London,  our  two  divisions  of  the  Ninth  Corps  at  Lenoir's, 
and  the  cavalry  at  the  outposts. 

The  situation  of  Lenoir's  was  excellent  for  cantonments. 
Wooded  hills  surrounded  the  level  ground  through  which 
the  railroad  ran.  To  the  south  was  the  clear-flowing 
Holston,  at  this  point  joined  by  the  Little  Tennessee, 
coming  in  from  its  sources  among  the  North  Carolina 
mountains  to  form  the  Tennessee ;  the  three  streams 
dividing  the  country  into  three  great  triangles,  from  either 
of  which,  by  our  pontoon-bridge,  we  could  draw  forage. 
There  was  direct  railroad  connection  with  Knoxville,  and, 
by  way  of  Kingston,  communication  was  open  with  the 
main  army  at  Chattanooga,  now  under  General  Grant ; 
for  he,  also,  had  come  eastward  from  the  Mississippi  to 
this  central  point  of  interest  for  the  winter,  and  had  super 
seded  General  Rosecrans.  The  open  ground  between  our 
color-line  and  the  railroad  afforded  a  good  field  for  evolu 
tions,  and  morning  and  afternoon  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  busy 
practising  the  skirmish  drill  under  the  direction  of  Major 
Wales.  The  men  soon  became  proficient  in  the  movements 
in  obedience  to  the  notes  of  Gardner's  bugle  :  "  Forward," 
"  In  retreat,"  "  Lie  clown,"  "  Rise  up,"  "  Commence  firing," 
V Cease  firing,"  "Rally,"  etc.  A  foraging  expedition 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  176 

under  command  of  Lieutenant  Meserve,  to  the  country 
towards  Kingston,  was  very  successful. 

Lieutenant  Dunbar,  Commissary-Sergeant  Plummer  and 
a  squad  of  convalescents  joined  on  the  fourth  and  fifth  of 
November,  and  on  the  ninth  Captains  Lyon  and  Hudson 
returned ;  the  former  took  command  of  Company  D,  the 
latter  of  Company  H.  Surgeon  Snow  left  for  Crab 
Orchard,  and  Lieutenant  Creasey  was  detailed  on  the  staff 
of  Colonel  Leasure,  to  collect  men  of  the  Ninth  Corps  in 
Kentucky  and  Ohio. 

Several  alarms  were  occasioned  by  wandering  Confed 
erate  scouts  feeling  the  pickets.  A  light  pontoon-bridge 
was  thrown  across  the  Holston,  south  of  our  camp,  to  make 
a  connection  with  our  mounted  infantry  on  the  Little  Ten 
nessee.  The  Thirty-Fifth  spent  the  night  of  the  eleventh  on 
the  south  bank  on  picket  in  the  woods,  without  disturbance  ; 
several  pigs  met  with  a,  to  us,  timely  end,  and  persimmon 
trees  got  a  good  whacking. 

The  Confederates,  having  failed  in  their  efforts  to  pre 
vent  Grant  and  Thomas  from  opening  railroad  connection 
between  Chattanooga  and  the  base  of  supplies  at  Nashville, 
now  turned  their  attention  to  freeing  their  own  direct 
communication  with  Lee's  army  and  Virginia,  which  our 
position  severed.  General  Longstreet  was  given,  by  re 
port,  some  20,000  men  for  this  purpose,  General  Bragg 
thinking  himself  able  to  hold  Grant  in  Chattanooga  with 
the  remainder  of  his  divided  army ;  an  error  in  judgment 
for  which  he  had  to  pay  dearly  soon  after  at  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  of  No 
vember,  in  the  darkness  and  rain,  the  regiment  was  awakened 
and  ordered  to  "  turn  out  without  noise  and  stack  arms  on 
the  color  line."  The  builders  had  their  huts  and  mud 
chimneys  almost  done  and  were  anxious  to  learn  "what 


177  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

was  up,"  but  the  cynics  were  ready  with  their  "  I  told  you 
so."  After  waiting  some  two  hours,  further  orders  came  : 
"Pack  up  and  be  ready  to  strike  tents  at  a  moment's 
warning," — the  tents  were  left  till  the  last  moment  on 
account  of  the  severity  of  the  weather.  Soon  after,  "  Strike 
tents ! "  and  when  this  was  done,  down  came  the  rain  in  a 
deluge.  At  daylight  the  trains  began  moving  towards 
Knoxville,  and  things  began  to  look  decidedly  lively  on 
the  road  northward  as  the  forenoon  wore  away  —  wagons, 
ambulances,  artillery  and  troops,  all  on  the  move  in  the 
road  and  alongside.  No  one  appeared  to  be  going  towards 
Loudon.  This  was  the  scene  before  us  as  we  sat  upon 
our  knapsacks  among  the  ruins  of  camp,  reading  Parson 
Brownlow's  "  Knoxville  Whig  and  Rebel  Ventilator,"  first 
copies  of  which  had  just  been  issued  arid  were  selling  at 
fifteen  cents  each.  During  the  forenoon  our  pontoon- 
bridge  over  the  Holston,  in  rear  of  camp,  was  destroyed. 

About  two  in  the  afternoon  a  locomotive  came  down 
from  Knoxville  and  stopped  in  front  of  us,  a  few  rods  dis 
tant.  From  the  tender  jumped  Generals  Burnside  and 
Ferrero,  and  in  less  than  fifteen  minutes  affairs  took  a 
different  turn ;  the  fighting  portion  of  the  army  was  faced 
about,  and  soon  the  First  Division,  Ferrero's,  was  on  the 
way  south  towards  Loudon.  All  this  time  the  wildest 
rumors  were  circulated,  but  no  sounds  of  fighting  reached 
us  until  near  sunset,  when  a  few  cannon-shots  were  heard. 
It  was  announced  that  Longstreet  was  crossing  the  Tennes 
see  by  a  pontoon-bridge  at  Hough's  Ferry  below  Loudon, 
opposite  General  Julius  White's  division  of  the  Twenty- 
Third  Corps,  to  whose  aid  our  First  Division  had  marched. 
It  was  obvious  to  us  that  the  enemy  must  be  delayed  as  much 
as  possible  to  enable  our  trains  to  reach  Knoxville  and  the 
city  to  be  fortified.  He  had  about  three  men  to  our  one, 
so  hindering  rather  than  fighting  him  was  our  only  prudent 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  178 

course.  It  has  since  been  stated  that,  by  an  understand 
ing  between  Generals  Grant  and  Burnside,  our  little  army 
was  fronted  close  to  Longstreet  to  bait  him  on  and  draw 
him  so  far  from  Bragg  that  a  return  would  be  impracticable, 
when  the  grand  battles  about  Chattanooga  should  be  de 
livered.  Finally  the  day  passed,  and  we  were  still  on  the 
same  ground ;  but,  as  most  of  the  tents  were  down,  there 
was  little  chance  for  rest,  even  if  the  order  for  movement 
at  a  moment's  notice  had  not  been  continued.  Some, 
nevertheless,  with  the  indifference  to  the  future  acquired 
by  experience,  wisely  improved  the  present  by  getting 
three  or  four  hours'  sleep. 

We  were  routed  out  again  at  half-past  one  in  the  morn 
ing  of  the  fifteenth  —  rather  early  for  Sunday  morning  — 
and  this  time  there  was  no  delay ;  in  twenty  minutes  we 
were  upon  the  road  south,  towards  Loudon,  and  a  most 
disagreeable  march  it  proved.  To  say  that  the  road  was 
rough  and  muddy  that  night  is  but  a  feeble  description  of 
it ;  men  stumbled  upon  each  other  in  the  darkness,  rapping 
their  file  leaders  over  the  head  with  their  muskets,  or 
slipped  and  sat  in  the  mud,  then  started  on  again,  guided 
by  the  exclamations  of  comrades  rather  than  by  sight,  and 
in  the  morning  found  themselves  dabbled  with  mud  to  the 
waist.  At  daylight  we  reached  the  high  land  about  half  a 
mile  below  Loudon,  and  got  a  chance  to  cook  coffee  and 
dry  our  clothes  a  little. 

With  the  dawn  the  clouds  cleared  away  for  awhile  and 
it  was  colder,  then  November's  gray  sky  settled  down 
over  the  scene.  On  first  reaching  the  Tennessee  no 
enemy  appeared  ;  about  ten  o'clock  the  Twenty-First  Mas 
sachusetts  was  deployed  as  skirmishers  and  moved  down 
the  river  until  they  struck  the  foe,  who,  however,  did  not 
attack  us,  being  intent  upon  his  crossing  and  seeking  to 
pass  by  our  right-flank  to  get  the  start  in  a  race  for  Knox- 


179  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

ville,  which  he  knew  to  lie  open  to  him.  General  Burnside 
had  about  6,000  men  in  hand ;  General  Potter  command 
ing  the  Ninth  Corps,  Colonel  Sigfried  our  division,  and 
Colonel  Schall  our  brigade.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  drawn 
back  out  of  sight,  and  lay  in  a  deep  wooded  valley,  near 
some  deserted  log  huts  of  the  Twenty-Third  Corps,  listen 
ing  to  the  light  skirmishing  in  front ;  our  men  poking  over 
the  cast-off  shoes  about  the  premises,  seeking  to  supply 
deficiences  in  shoe-leather. 

Meanwhile  General  White's  Division  of  the  Twenty- 
Third  Corps  and  our  First  Division  had  retired  to  Lenoir's, 
leaving  our  division,  in  its  turn,  to  cover  the  rear.  About 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  Twenty-First  came  off  the 
skirmish  line,  column  was  formed,,  and  we  started  for  Le 
noir's  at  quick  time  with  flankers  out  on  the  left.  Reach 
ing  the  neighborhood  of  the  station  at  dusk,  our  regiment 
was  deployed  as  skirmishers,  faced  to  the  rear,  across  the 
road  we  had  just  come  over  and  the  railroad.  The  position 
was  taken  by  order  communicated  through  Captain  Davis 
of  the  brigade  staff,  and,  as  it  was  known  that  the  enemy 
was  at  least  abreast  of  us  on  the  road  from  Kingston  to 
Lenoir's,  the  arrangement  was  looked  upon  as  a  sacrifice 
of  the  Thirty-Fifth.  It  was  remarked  to  the  Captain : 
"This  means  that  this  regiment  is  to  be  killed,  wounded 
or  taken  prisoners  ;  "  he  replied,  "  It  looks  very  much  like 
it,  good  bye,"  and  rode  off. 

As  the  men  took  positions  behind  rocks  and  trees,  peer 
ing  into  the  darkness,  the  last  of  the  rear  guard  (cavalry) 
rode  past,  and  silence  fell  on  all ;  the  chirp  of  an  insect 
sounded  like  the  rebel  yell,  and  every  foot-fall  was  the 
tramp  of  the  advancing  enemy.  It  was  uncertain  from 
which  direction  the  gray-coats  might  first  appear,  front, 
flank  or  rear.  Color-Sergeant  Patch  was  posted  down  the 
road  with  the  colors,  with  instructions  what  to  do  with  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  l8o 

flags  should  the  regiment  be  overpowered.  Such  moments 
are  trying  at  the  time,  but,  if  the  result  be  happy,  are  not 
unpleasant  to  remember.  But  a  sacrifice  was  not  required  ; 
in  a  little  while  a  galloping  horse  was  heard  in  rear  and 
another  staff  officer  appeared  with  orders  to  withdraw  the 
regiment,  and,  rallying  the  battalion,  we  marched  in  quick 
time  to  Lenoir's  and  the  open  field  in  front  of  our  old 
camp  ground.  Here  all  the  huts  were  burning  with  some 
much-needed  clothing  and  shoes,  which  there  had  been  no 
time  to  distribute  in  due  form.  A  roll  of  bread  —  two 
day's  half  rations  —  was  given  to  each  man  for  food  until 
Knoxville  should  be  reached,  twenty-four  miles  away. 
Colonel  Hartranft  met  us  here  and  took  command  of  our 
division.  The  First  Division  and  White's  Division  lay  in 
the  woods  on  the  north-west,  side  of  the  station,  facing  the 
enemy  on  the  Kingston  road,  and  as  we  passed  slowly 
across  the  plain  now  ruddy  with  the  flames,  their  skir 
mishers  kept  up  a  pretty  steady  volley  of  musketry,  sug 
gestive  of  our  fate  had  the  regiment  been  left  upon  the 
Loudon  road.  The  night  scene  was  thrillingly  picturesque. 
While  Ferrero's  and  White's  divisions  thus  maintained 
their  position  at  Lenoir's,  again  in  their  turn  covering  the 
'rear,  Hartranft's  Division,  with  mounted  infantry,  was  sent 
forward  to  occupy  the  junction  of  our  road  with  another 
road  from  Kingston  coming  in  from  the  south-west  —  some 
eight  miles  nearer  Knoxville  —  at  Campbell's  Station,  the 
next  point  for  which  it  was  supposed  Longstreet  would 
strike.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  detailed  to  help  forward 
Benjamin's  battery.  The  condition  of  the  roads  for  the 
movement  of  trains  and  artillery  was  execrable  ;  where  the 
wheels  did  not  sink  in  the  mud  they  were  blocked  by 
rough  rocks ;  the  horses  had  been  overworked  for  the  past 
twenty-four  hours  and  were  now  so  balky  as  to  be  almost 
useless  for  hauling ;  so  the  column  hitched  along  out  of 


l8l  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Lenoir's  at  a  snail's  pace,  the  men  not  knowing  at  first  the 
cause  of  the  delay.  At  last,  patience  became  exhausted, 
ranks  were  broken  and  the  men  caught  hold  of  the  muddy 
rims  of  wheels  or  parts  of  gun-carriages,  wherever  a  hand 
could  seize  them,  and  pushed  and  shoved  to  assist  the 
animals.  The  fences  along  the  way  were  burning  to  light 
the  work.  In  this  way  we  were  eight  hours  making  the 
first  three  miles.  Towards  morning  Lieutenant  Ben 
jamin,  finding  that  unless  there  were  greater  speed  his 
guns  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  ordered  a 
part  of  the  ammunition  and  the  rear  caisson  destroyed ; 
in  the  latter,  however,  he  failed,  being  unable  to  procure 
an  axe.  He  labored  hard  all  night,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  perplexities  of  the  situation,  kept  his  temper  through 
out,  talking  very  calmly  to  his  men  as  if  all  was  progress 
ing  favorably.  The  rope  prolonges  were  brought  out  and 
attached,  and  the  guns  were  slowly  dragged  through  the 
mire  by  hand  ;  finally  the  horses  of  the  mounted  infantry 
were  used  to  haul  them. 

At  daylight  of  the  sixteenth,  flankers  were  thrown  out 
upon  our  left,  and  much  better  progress  was  made.  As  we 
approached  the  junction  at  Campbell's  Station,  the  country 
on  our  right  was  mostly  open,  cleared  land ;  on  the  left  it 
was  heavily  wooded,  excepting  a  field  of  about  six  acres  at 
the  meeting  of  the  roads.  The  Thirty-Fifth  formed  line  in 
this  field,  north  of  the  road,  and  advanced  across  it  to  the 
woods  on  the  further  side.  At  this  time  the  musketry  was 
quite  brisk  to  our  right,  as  we  then  faced,  a  little  further 
down  the  Kingston  road,  where  Longstreet's  advance  had 
engaged  the  mounted  infantry  and  Morrison's  brigade  of 
Ferrero's  Division.  Here  several  of  our  men  were  wounded 
by  shots  from  the  right,  but  no  enemy  appeared  in  our 
front,  and  as  soon  as  the  last  of  our  wagons  had  passed, 
we  were  marched  to  the  line  of  battle  north  of  the  village. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  182 

A  commanding  position  had  been  selected  by  Generals 
Burnside  and  Potter,  and  the  artillery  having  been  posted 
all  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from  the  junction,  and 
drawn  up  in  line  of  battle  from  side  to  side  of  the  open 
country.  We  had  five  batteries  on  the  Union  side  ;  while 
the  Confederates  were  slow  in  getting  up  their  artillery, 
on  account  of  the  bad  roads.  With  both  our  flanks  rest 
ing  upon  wooded  hills,  and  the  guns  in  position  defended 
by  veteran  soldiers,  the  narrow  front  of  about  a  mile  be 
came  a  formidable  barrier  to  Longstreet's  progress.  As 
we  faced  to  the  rear,  the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  was  upon 
the  left  of  this  line,  the  Thirty-Fifth  next,  with  a  skirmish 
line,  composed  of  Companies  C,  D  and  K,  in  front.  In 
this  left  wing  were  the  guns  of  Roemer's  battery,  which 
did  excellent  service.  To  attack  us  the  enemy  must  come 
out  of  the  woods  and  expose  themselves  to  our  artillery. 
From  our  position  we  could  see  both  armies,  and  it  was  a 
grand  sight.  The  Confederates  came  out  in  line  with 
colors  flying,  fully  expecting,  apparently,  that  as  soon  as 
they  got  close  to  us  we  would  retreat  as  before ;  but  they 
were  mistaken,  for  no  sooner  were  they  in  sight  than  our 
batteries  poured  shells  and  shrapnel  into  their  ranks  with 
terrible  effect ;  we  could  see  the  shells  burst  among  them, 
and  they  would  break  and  run  for  the  woods. 

At  the  opening  of  the  engagement  in  this  second  posi 
tion,  about  noon,  we  could  see  their  batteries  take  position 
in  a  field  near  the  road  we  had  passed  over,  and  send 
shells  in  our  direction,  which  burst  in  too  close  proximity 
to  be  pleasant;  but  their  guns  were  soon  silenced  by  our 
batteries.  We  could  also  see  their  infantry  marching 
across  from  the  Kingston  road  to  the  woods  upon  our  left. 
Their  attack  commenced  upon  the  right  of  the  line, 
Ferrero's  Division,  and,  being  repulsed,  worked  towards 
our  front,  avoiding  a  direct  assault  upon  the  centre, 


183  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

White's  Division.  After  awhile,  our  artillery  continuing 
to  shell  them  whenever  they  could  be  seen,  we  discovered 
a  force  coming  over  the  crest  of  the  hill  through  the  woods 
on  our  left;  Roemer  immediately  changed  front  and  gave 
them  a  few  shot  so  well  placed  that  they  sought  cover  on 
the  double-quick,  scattering  "like  nine-pins,"  as  an  ob 
server  expressed  it. 

They  kept  on,  however,  working  around  in  the  \voods 
on  the  left,  and  to  prevent  being  flanked  it  became  neces 
sary  to  withdraw  the  whole  line  of  battle,  between  three 
and  four  o'clock,  to  a  new  position  in  rear,  upon  the  top 
of  the  hill  we  were  occupying.  This  movement  to  the  rear 
was  executed  with  perfect  regularity,  and  we  took  up  a 
position  similar  to  the  former,  but  commanding  it  so  that 
the  Confederates  must  still  further  stretch  out  their  flank 
to  reach  ours.  The  evolutions  upon  this  battle-field  were 
like  the  moves  upon  a  chess-board,  and  were  executed 
with  a  precision  and  regard  for  military  art  seldom  dis 
played  in  active  field  service  in  our  thickly  wooded  country. 
One  of  our  batteries  was  stationed  in  an  orchard  near  the 
centre  of  the  line  of  battle  and  a  little  in  advance  of  this 
last  position ;  beside  it  General  Burnside  remained  most 
of  the  time,  carefully  scanning  the  whole  field. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  the  Confederates  were  observed 
again  working  upon  our  flank,  and  we  gave  them  the  same 
warm  reception  as  before  and  with  the  same  discomfitting 
result.  But  this  time  their  halt  was  only  temporary,  and 
soon  after,  when  most  of  our  army,  filing  off  by  the  right, 
had  taken  the  road  towards  Knoxville,  and  we  were  pre 
paring  to  follow,  the  enemy  again  appeared  coming  on. 
Our  skirmishers,  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Meserve, 
opened  a  brisk  fire  and  stood  their  ground  without  waver 
ing.  Word  was  sent  to  Roemer's  battery,  then  limbering 
up,  the  guns  were  again  sighted  and  a  round  of  shells  sent 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  184 

among  the  gray-coats  which  chilled  their  enthusiasm.  It 
was  now  late,  and  so  dark  it  had  become  difficult  to  dis 
tinguish  friend  from  foe,  even  at  short  distance,  and  the 
obscurity  concealed  the  Confederates  from  our  view.  The 
skirmishers  were  ordered  to  rally  on  the  regiment,  which 
they  did  with  a  will,  and  the  column  turned  into  the  road 
and  left  the  field  to  Longstreet  and  the  darkness  of  night. 
The  purpose  of  delaying  him  for  twenty-four  hours  longer 
had  been  attained  and  our  trains  secured. 

As  we  passed  a  wagon  by  the  roadside,  ammunition  was 
distributed,  and  then  the  men  summoned  resolution  for  an 
other  night  march  of  sixteen  miles.  Skirmishing  was  heard 
behind  us  all  the  first  part  of  the  night,  General  White's 
Division  of  the  Twenty-Third  Corps  and  the  cavalry  now 
covering  the  rear ;  but  towards  morning  this  ceased.  The 
engineers  felled  trees  across  the  road  to  retard  the  enemy, 
who  were  easily  distanced.  The  day's  work  on  both  sides 
at  Campbell's  Station  had  been  worthy  of  troops  who  had 
come  from  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  to  test  each  other's 
skill  and  courage  in  this  far-away  corner  of  the  mountains. 
The  casualties  in  our  regiment  had  been  several  slightly 
wounded  and  one  missing,  Charles  H.  Ellis,  of  Company 
I,  adjutant's  clerk,  who  was  taken  prisoner  and  died  at 
Belle  Isle  near  Richmond. 

This  was,  to  most  of  the  men,  the  third  night  without 
sleep,  so  that  their  condition  was  pitiable.  Night  march 
ing  in  close  ranks  is  hard,  under  the  most  favorable  cir 
cumstances  ;  these  last  few  hours  before  reaching  Knox- 
ville  were  spent  as  in  a  dream,  many  declaring  that  they 
slept  while  marching ;  officers  dozed  in  the  saddle ;  tired 
human  nature  could  endure  no  more  and  insisted  upon  its 
right  to  rest.  After  halting,  numbers  who  had  dropped 
asleep  had  to  be  awakened  with  the  warnings  that  to 
rest  now  was  a  sure  preliminary  to  Libby  Prison  ;  a  few, 


185  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

happily,  continued  wide  awake  and  spurred  on  the  rest. 
The  column  entered  Knoxville  early  in  the  morning  of 
November  17  ;  a  rest  of  a  couple  of  hours  was  given,  and  the 
half-starved  men  received  rations  of  beef  and  hard  bread. 

General  Ferrero's  Division  had  reached  the  town  first, 
and  was  now  posted  on  the  high  lands  facing  to  the  south 
west  and  west  and  extending  from  the  Holston  River 
around  Fort  Sanders,  the  salient,  to  Second  Creek,  which 
was  the  stream  running  by  our  first  camp  ground  near 
Knoxville.  Our  division,  arriving  in  town  second,  was 
extended  from  Second  Creek  to  First  Creek  and  faced 
north-west  and  north.  The  Twenty-Third  Corps,  coming 
along  in  rear,  now  occupied  Temperance  Hill  and  the 
north-east  side  of  the  town,  also  the  high  fortified  hills  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Holston,  which  were  connected  with 
the  city  by  a  pontoon-bridge.  Our  First  Brigade  held  the 
left  of  our  division  line,  our  brigade  the  right,  and  our 
regiment  held  the  extreme  right  of  all,  next  to  the  mill  and 
dam  on  First  Creek. 

Marching  through  the  town  to  our  position,  we  halted 
and  stacked  arms  in  the  open  field  upon  the  hill  overlook 
ing  First  Creek,  the  East  Tennessee  and  Virginia  Rail 
road,  and  the  rolling,  cleared  ground  beyond,  gently  rising 
from  us  to  the  pitch-pine  woods  through  which  was  cut, 
directly  in  our  front,  the  road  to  Cumberland  Gap  ;  to  the 
left  was  the  road  to  Jacksboro.  There  were  no  buildings 
of  importance  between  us  and  the  Gap  road,  but  on  the 
left  there  were  well-built  houses  with  gardens  extending 
out  upon  the  way  to  Jacksboro.  On  the  outer  slope  of  our 
hill  a  line  of  intrenchments  was  drawn,  and  all  hands  went 
busily  to  work  to  make  cover.  A  large  part  of  the  labor 
was  done  by  citizens,  especially  colored  volunteers  from 
the  city,  and  in  a  surprisingly  short  time  a  trench  sufficient 
for  our  purpose  was  dug  along  the  whole  front.  The 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  l86 

Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  was  in  line  upon  our  left";  then 
the  line  was  cut  by  the  steep  descent  of  the  street  to  the 
railroad  station,  and  beyond  was  located  the  rest  of  our 
brigade  upon  the  high  bluff  overhanging  the  station.  The 
Fifteenth  Indiana  battery  was  posted  on  the  highest  part 
of  our  hill,  behind  an  earthwork  and  bales  of  cotton 
sheathed  with  raw-hides.  This  work  was  called  Battery 
Billingsley,  after  an  officer  killed  during  the  siege. 

It  was  a  strange  sight  to  see  citizens  clothed  in  gray  or 
butternut,  with  long  rifle  in  hand,  come  down  and  take 
places  by  our  side  in  the  trenches  for  the  defence  of  their 
homes.  We  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  look  upon 
that  color  as  hostile,  its  appearance  in  our  ranks  was  very 
cheering  to  the  men.  Our  shelter-tents  were  pitched  in 
regular  order  in  rear  of  the  battery  and  beside  the  city 
street ;  but  most  of  the  regiment  passed  the  first  night  in  the 
trenches,  sleeping  upon  their  arms  —  the  first  sleep  to  most 
of  them  for  seventy  hours.  Time  for  this  work  and  rest 
was  gained  by  the  heroic  conduct  of  our  cavalry,  south  of 
the  city,  under  General  Sanders,  in  which  action  that  gal 
lant  leader  was  mortally  wounded.  As  the  enemy  closed 
around  pickets  were  sent  out ;  the  detail  of  sixty  men  from 
our  regiment  being  under  Captain  Mirick.  They  con 
structed  a  line  of  low  rifle-pits  about  half  a  mile  to  the  front, 
and  extending  from  the  Gap  road  south  to  near  Second 
Creek,  a  line  which  was  held  by  our  brigade  pickets  during 
the  siege,  connecting,  of  course,  at  both  ends  with  the 
pickets  of  the  other  divisions.  During  his  tour  of  duty 
Captain  Mirick  was  wounded  by  a  bullet  from  the  enemy 
through  his  wrist.  As  Longstreet  had  not  sufficient  force 
to  entirely  invest  the  city,  his  main  force  was  concentrated 
around  the  south-west  and  west  sides,  where  he  had  better 
positions  for  his  artillery  and  at  the  same  time  interposed 
between  us  and  Grant's  army. 


187  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Central  Burnside  issued  an  order  stating  that  there  was 
to  be  no  further  retreat,  and  Knoxville  was  to  be  held  at 
all  hazards  and  to  the  last  man.  The  question  of  food 
supply  seemed  to  be  the  most  difficult  to  meet ;  only  half 
or  even  quarter  rations  were  issued,  the  bread  sometimes 
having  the  appearance  of  being  made  of  a  mixture  of  rye 
and  refuse  grains  and  quite  black  in  color;  but  the  men 
echoed  the  spirit  of  their  beloved  leader  and  stood  up  to 
their  share  of  the  work  unflinchingly.  The  following  diary 
of  the  siege,  kept  by  Captain  Nason,  then  First  Sergeant  of 
Company  K,  sets  forth  the  daily  life  of  the  enlisted  men 
during  those  trying  days  better  than  any  description  which 
we  can  now  give  : 

"Wednesday,  November  i8th.  We  were  relieved  from 
the  trenches  in  the  morning  by  the  Eleventh  New  Hamp 
shire.  Every  preparation  is  being  made  to  hold  the  city ; 
the  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-Fifth  were  busy 
most  of  the  clay  in  stopping  a  run  of  water  (First  Creek) 
by  making  a  dam,  filling  up  with  dirt,  stones  and  brush,  in 
order  to  overflow  the  space  between  the  fortifications  and 
the  railroad,  which  would  be  a  great  hindrance  to  the 
enemy  in  making  an  assault.  The  citizens  living  outside 
of  our  intrenchments  were  ordered  to  vacate  their  dwell 
ings.  Another  detail  from  the  regiment  relieved  the  picket 
at  six  P.  M. 

"Thursday,  igth.  A  part  of  the  regiment  is  ordered  to 
remain  in  the  trenches,  the  rest  to  be  ready  to  fall  in  at  a 
moment's  notice.  There  was  considerable  picket  firing 
during  the  day.  A  rebel  battery,  with  white  horses,  made 
its  appearance  from  the  woods  and  fired  three  shots ;  one 
of  them  passed  through  a  tent  in  Company  E,  without  in 
juring  the  occupant,  who  was  eating  his  dinner ;  one  went 
through  the  door  of  a  building  in  rear  of  the  right  of  the 
regiment,  and  the  other  passed  near  General  Burnside, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  1 88 

who  was  inside  the  parapet  looking  through  a  glass.  He 
showed  his  white  teeth,  and  sighting  one  of  the  guns, 
quickly  sent  the  white  horses  flying ;  they  were  soon  out 
of  sight  with  the  rebel  battery.  At  night  every  man  for 
detail  was  put  at  work  digging.  Slept  in  the  trenches  all 
night ;  I  was  awakened  from  sleep  by  the  playing  of  Web 
ster's  March  at  the  funeral  of  General  Sanders ;  the  effect 
in  the  stillness  of  night  was  solemn  and  impressive. 

"Friday,  2oth.  Foggy  morning.  In  trenches  all  day ; 
made  a  fire-place  by  digging  into  the  bank.  Picket  firing 
all  day ;  several  shots  from  rebel  batteries  at  five  P.  M.  ; 
no  one  injured.  Drew  half  a  day's  rations  of  bread  from 
the  commissary.  The  parapet  covering  the  battery  in  rear 
of  our  company  was  strengthened  by  placing  cotton-bales 
on  the  top  and  filling  in  with  dirt ;  a  detail  of  the  regiment 
kept  at  work  all  night. 

"  Saturday,  2ist.  Sergeant  Worcester  and  seven  men  left 
for  picket  at  four  A.  M.  Ripley,  our  cook,  went  to  the  picket 
line  with  their  breakfast,  seven  A.  M.  ;  on  returning,  he 
stopped  and  milked  four  quarts  of  milk  from  a  stray  cow. 
It  rained  steadily  until  three  p.  M.  The  dam  gave  way 
during  the  heavy  rain,  and  men  were  immediately  set  at 
work  repairing  it.  A  few  shots  were  fired  from  the  fort  on 
our  left,  the  only  firing  from  batteries  during  the  clay. 

"Sunday,  22cl.  Two  corporals  and  one  private  for  picket 
at  four  A.  M.*  Clear  and  pleasant.  Less  firing  than  usual. 
Regiment  ordered  to  discharge  muskets  and  to  police 
camp.  Lewis  Morse  obtained  some  meal  and  flour,  with 
which  I  made  some  bread  and  pancakes.  At  five  P.  M., 
four  or  five  shells  came  over  to  our  right  from  a  rebel 
battery,  exploding  some  distance  to  our  rear ;  a  few  shots 
fired  from  the  forts  on  our  right  silenced  it ;  also  ours  fired 
again  at  eight  P.  M.,  without  any  reply. 

*  K  was  a  small  company  for  two  years  after  Antietam. 


189  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

"Monday,  230!.  Lieutenant  Meserve  and  six  men  of  K 
on  picket.  I  went  into  town  and  called  on  Mr.  Locke,  a 
baker,  from  Massachusetts.  Most  of  the  stores  were 
closed,  and  prices  very  high  :  coffee,  one  dollar  a  pound  ; 
sugar,  fifty  cents ;  molasses,  two  dollars  per  gallon.  Sev 
eral  citizens,  out  of  employment,  were  put  to  work  on  the 
dam  with  a  detail  of  troops,  who  worked  all  day  and  night. 
A  volley  of  musketry  aroused  the  camp  at  eight  P.  M.,  and 
we  rallied  to  the  trenches.  The  line  of  pickets  occupied 
by  the  Second  Maryland  was  attacked  and  the  men  driven 
from  their  posts,  the  rebels  occupying  the  pits  until  day 
light,  when  the  Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania  and  Twenty- 
First  Massachusetts,  with  a  detachment  of  thirty-six  men 
from  the  Thirty-Fifth  on  their  right,  charged  on  the  picket 
line,  driving  the  enemy,  and  reestablished  the  line.  Dur 
ing  the  skirmish  twenty-five  houses  were  fired  by  men 
detailed  for  that  purpose,  to  prevent  their  occupation 
by  the  enemy's  sharpshooters.  Many  of  them  were  val 
uable,  with  grounds  handsomely  laid  out.  The  scene 
of  the  conflagration  from  the  trenches  was  grand  and 
thrilling.* 

*  Major  Wales  was  officer  of  the  day.  When,  in  the  evening,  the  enemy  made 
their  attack  as  above  he  came  to  the  Thirty-Fifth  and  called  for  volunteers  —  the 
whole  regiment  at  once  sprang  out  of  the  trenches  and  over  the  works  to  the  front ; 
but  only  the  thirty-six  men  were  taken.  The  detachment  was  during  the  night  under 
the  immediate  command  of  Lieutenant  Pope,  who  was  officer  of  the  picket.  Our 
pickets  had  been  flanked  by  the  break  on  the  left,  and  obliged  to  abandon  their  pits 
along  our  whole  front ;  falling  back  they  set  fire  to  the  inflammables  prepared  in  the 
houses,  and  then  formed  line  behind  stumps  and  other  cover  in  the  open  ground  about 
half  way  back  to  the  railroad,  and  at  such  an  angle  as  to  cover  the  flank  of  our  line 
to  the  right.  On  the  left  were  the  burning  buildings,  casting  a  brilliant  red  glare  over 
the  whole  ground  and  into  the  woods  in  front.  Occasionally  a  man  could  be  seen 
among  the  buildings  carrying  combustibles  or  a  torch  from  one  to  the  other.  Our  pits 
in  front  were  occupied  by  the  enemy ;  but  they  kept  close,  the  slightest  exposure  above 
the  brink  catching  the  light  and  revealing  itself  to  our  riflemen  at  once.  They  fired 
at  our  men  who  were  much  more  exposed.  Great  masses  of  flame,  smoke  and  cinders 
rolled  overhead  with  imposing  effect. 

At  daybreak  Major  Wales  gave  orders  that,  as  soon  as  cheering  should  be  heard 
on  our  left  —  the  charge  of  the  Twenty-First  and  Forty-Eighth — we  should  jump  up 

I 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  IQO 

"Tuesday,  24th.  Rain  most  of  the  day.  Very  little  picket 
firing.  Our  loss  in  the  charge,  Monday  night,  was  one 
killed  —  Private  Henzy.  The  Eleventh  New  Happshire 
and  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania  each  lost  one  man  killed. 
The  Twenty-First  and  Forty- Eighth  lost  more.  The  Sec 
ond  Michigan  lost  eighty  killed,  wounded  and  missing, 
leaving  the  major  and  adjutant  on  the  field.  A  flag  of 
truce  to  bury  their  dead  was  fired  upon  by  the  enemy. 

"Wednesday,  25th.  Clear  and  pleasant.  Washed 
clothes.  An  alarm  at  2  P.  M.,  and  we  rallied  in  the  trenches 
expecting  an  attack,  but  only  the  usual  picket  firing  oc 
curred  during  the  day.  At  5  P.  M.  returned  to  our  tents, 
leaving  one  man  from  each  company  on  guard.  The  band 
played,  morning,  noon  and  night,  in  front  of  camp.* 

"Thursday,  November  26,  National  Thanksgiving  Day. 
Clear  and  frosty.  Picket  line  strengthened  on  the  left  by 
falling  back  into  new  pits  to  avoid  the  cross-fire  from  the 
left,  and  six  or  eight  buildings  were  destroyed  at  5.30  A.  M., 
to  prevent  their  occupation  by  the  enemy's  sharpshooters. 
For  my  Thanksgiving  dinner  I  had  bean  soup  and  bread 

with  a  shout  and  dash  with  all  speed  for  the  rifle  pits  in  front.  The  cheers  were  heard, 
up  sprang  the  men  and  charged  forward  recklessly,  each  trying  to  outrun  the  others 
and  get  first  to  the  line.  The  men  in  gray,  startled  by  the  attack  on  their  right,  left 
in  haste  —  all  but  one,  a  fine  fellow  from  a  South  Carolina  regiment —  Palmetto  Sharp 
shooters —  who  was  found  shot  through  the  body  in  one  of  the  pits.  A  man  of  our 
detachment  —  Henzy,  of  Company  I  —  stooped  down  to  examine  him ;  at  the  same 
moment  a  few  bullets  from  the  retreating  foe  came  pattering  among  us,  one  of  them 
seeming  to  hit  a  stump  with  the  peculiar  sharp  "  chick  !  "  so  well  remembered  by  all 
soldiers.  Major  Wales  ordered  the  men  to  stand  up,  and  walked  afong  the  line ;  com 
ing  to  Henzy  and  seeing  him  still  bending  over  the  Confederate,  he  asked,  "  What  is 
that  man  down  there  for?  "  A  comrade  placing  his  hand  on  Henzy  found  him  lifeless, 
the  ball  which  seemed  to  strike  the  stump  had  passed  through  his  head.  For  the  dash 
exhibited  in  this  charge  this  detail  of  thirty-six  men  from  the  regiment  received  due 
credit  from  headquarters. 

*  This  was  the  last  day  of  the  battles  at  Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge, 
which  proved  such  glorious  Union  victories  and  decided  our  fate,  although  as  yet 
unknown  to  us.  The  days,  26th  to  28th,  were  those  of  the  Mine  Run  affair  in  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac;  so  there  was  fighting  at  both  ends  of  the  great  mountain  range 
and  we  in  the  middle. 


19 1  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  molasses,  using  about  all  my  next  day's  ration  of 
bread.  Ordered  to  be  ready  to  fall  in  at  any  moment. 
Private  Smith,  of  Company  C,  detailed  as  adjutant's  clerk 
at  regimental  headquarters  in  place  of  Ellis,  missing  since 
the  fifteenth.* 

"Friday,  27th.  Half  of  the  men  are  ordered  to  remain 
in  the  trenches  day  and  night.  Major  Wales  was  officer  of 
the  day.  Made  up  daily  report  book  since  the  thirteenth. 
A  quiet  day.  The  houses  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek 
have  been  loop-holed  in  front  and  occupied  by  detailed 
men  as  sharpshooters,  which  is  more  comfortable  than 
lying  in  the  trenches. 

"  Saturday,  28th.  Cloudy  and  wet;  rained  8  A.  M.  Clark 
of  our  company  went  to  purchase  some  bread  of  a  baker 
who  commenced  selling,  having  been  permitted  by  the 
authorities  to  open  his  shop ;  but  Clark  was  unable  to  get 
near,  the  crowd  was  so  great  —  the  supply  was  unequal  to 
the  demand.  Batteries  on  our  left  commenced  shelling, 
which  continued  through  the  night.  The  enemy  made  an 
assault  on  Fort  Sanders  about  daylight,  but  were  repulsed 
by  the  First  Division,  with  the  loss  (to  the  Confederates)  of 

*  Our  position  was  a  singular  one  for  thanksgiving,  but  half  starved,  exhausted 
with  watching  and  environed  by  enemies,  we  still  had  cause  for  gratitude.  General 
Burnside  issued  the  following  order: 

"GENERAL   FIELD   ORDERS,  No.  32. 

"HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  THE  OHIO, 

"  KNOXVILLE,  TENN.,  Nov.  26,  1863. 

"In  accordance  with  the  proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
Thursday,  the  twenty-sixth  instant,  will,  so  far  as  military  operations  permit,  be  ob 
served  by  this  army  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  for  the  countless  blessings  vouchsafed 
the  country,  and  the  fruitful  successes  granted  to  our  armies  during  the  past  year. 
Especially  has  this  army  cause  for  thankfulness  for  the  Divine  protection  which  has 
so  signally  shielded  us,  and  let  us  with  grateful  hearts  offer  prayer  for  its  continuance, 
and  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  God  of  Battles. 

"By  command  of  MAJ.  GEN.  BURNSIDE, 

"LEWIS  RICHMOND,  A.  A.  G." 

Within  a  day  or  two  afterwards  General  Sherman  started  from  Chattanooga,  by 
forced  marches  up  the  valley,  to  our  relief. 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  1 92 

over  eight  hundred  killed  and  wounded  and  four  hundred 
prisoners,*  while  our  loss  did  not  exceed  fifty.  After  mid 
night  the  picket  line  had  been  attacked  for  a  mile,  extending 
to  our  regiment.  The  Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania  pickets 
were  outflanked,  the  enemy  getting  into  their  rear,  when  a 
scene  of  confusion  followed,  friend  and  foe  being  mixed 
together.  Houses  were  fired  as  before,  and  the  same  lurid 
heavens  canopied  the  scene.  Our  pickets  were  obliged  to 
retire,  getting  behind  the  stumps  and  fences,  where  they 
remained  until  daylight,  when  Sunday,  29th,  the  Second 
Brigade  made  a  charge  and  drove  out  the  enemy,  thus 
regaining  our  pits  after  twice  being  flanked  out  of  them. 
The  boys  charged  forward  with  a  will  and  determination 
that  would  have  driven  twice  their  number,  Major  Wales 
leading  the  Thirty-Fifth  and  calling  upon  us  to  yell  our 
loudest.  We  remained  in  the  pits  until  the  pickets  were 
relieved  and  had  returned  to  camp.  The  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire  lay  in  support  in  rear.  The  Thirty-Fifth  lost 
one  man  killed  and  one  taken  prisoner.!  Corporal  Solon 
E.  Morse,  of  Company  K,  was  deceived  by  the  enemy,  who 
told  him  not  to  fire  on  his  own  men,  at  the  same  time  ask 
ing  him  what  regiment  he  belonged  to ;  he  told  them,  and 
was  taken  prisoner  before  he  could  escape.  Before  he  was 
undeceived  he  was  heard  urging  our  men  not  to  run  but 
to  come  back  to  the  pits,  which  if  they  had  done  they 
would,  no  doubt,  have  been  also  captured.  Morse  died 
at  Belle  Isle,  near  Richmond,  in  March  following. 

*Woodbury  says  eleven  hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  three  hundred  un- 
wounded  prisoners. 

t  Frank  A.  Porter  and  E.  P.  Kelly,  of  Company  G,  were  together  in  a  rifle-pit, 
•when,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  flanked  on 
the  left  and  the  enemy  getting  in  their  rear.  They  at  once  moved  off  to  the  right 
when  the  Confederates  ordered  them  to  halt,  but  they  paid  no  attention  to  the  com 
mand;  they  next  heard  the  order  "  Fire  !  "  and  received  a  volley,  killing  Porter,  the 
bullet  entering  his  right  side.  Porter's  body  was  left  on  the  disputed  ground  until 
daylight,  when  it  was  recovered  by  the  charge  of  our  men  above  mentioned. 


193  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

"An  armistice  was  agreed  on  from  10  A.  M.  to  8  P.  M.  to 
bury  the  dead  and  care  for  the  wounded.  I  went  to  the 
corps  hospital.  The  ambulances  were  busy  all  day  bring 
ing  in  the  wounded,  mostly  rebels.  I  saw  a  number  of 
prisoners  belonging  to  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  regi 
ments.  The  carnage  before  Fort  Sanders  and  Benjamin's 
battery  was  awful.  A  wire  netting  extended  around  the 
stumps  in  front  of  the  fort,  which  broke  their  line  as  they 
came  up.  Some  succeeded  in  reaching  the  breastwork 
only  to  be  shot.  They  crowded  into  the  deep  ditch  outside 
the  fort,  into  which  Lieutenant  Benjamin  threw  shells  — 
lighting  them,  it  was  said,  with  his  cigar — causing  a  fearful 
slaughter.  The  enemy  having  many  times  our  number, 
too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded  to  Lieutenant  Benja 
min,  who  was  as  cool  as  he  was  brave.* 

"  Monday,  3oth.  Very  cold;  ice  half  an  inch  thick. 
Fixed  up  quarters  in  the  trenches,  making  three  fire-places 
and  room  for  ten  members  of  the  company.  Made  the  pit 
two  feet  wider  to  allow  room  to  lie  down. 

"Tuesday,  December  i st.  Cool  and  pleasant.  An  order 
from  General  Burnside  was  read  to  the  regiment  by  Adju 
tant  Meserve,  complimenting  the  troops  for  their  heroism 
during  the  past  seventeen  days  of  trying  experience  ;  also 
mentioning  the  regiments  which  repulsed  the  attack  on 
Fort  Sanders  —  Seventy-Ninth  New  York  (Highlanders), 
Seventeenth  Michigan  and  others,  with  Benjamin's  and 
Buckley's  batteries.  It  was  a  glorious  defence.  He  also 
announced  the  great  victory  of  our  army  under  General 

*  For  a  detailed  account  of  this  attack  on  Fort  Sanders,  we  refer  to  "  Woodbury's 
History  of  the  Ninth  Corps  "  and  Captain  Barrage's  narrative  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly 
for  July,  1866.  The  scene  of  action  was  too  far  to  our  left  for  us  to  describe  it  as  eye 
witnesses,  only  the  smoke  and  din  of  battle  and  the  turmoil  of  the  assault  were  dis 
cernible  by  us;  and,  indeed,  we  were  so  busy  in  rectifying  affairs  in  our  front  that 
many  were  not  certain  until  afterwards  of  the  exact  hour  of  the  grand  assault  and 
repulse.  We  were  all  kept  in  the  trenches  for  the  rest  of  the  siege. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  194 

Grant,  with  the  loss  to  Bragg  of  six  thousand  prisoners 
and  fifty-one  [forty]  pieces  of  artillery  and  many  stands 
of  colors.  At  the  conclusion  Major  Wales  proposed  nine 
cheers,  which  were  given  with  a  will.  The  whole  line  of 
the  army  stood  up  on  the  works  and  cheered  and  waved 
the  colors,  while  the  bands  played,  to  inform  Longstreet's 
men  that  we  had  received  the  good  news.  Our  battery  on 
the  right  opened  at  5  P.  M.,  throwing  the  shot  further  to 
the  right  than  usual ;  no  reply  from  the  enemy.  Drew 
rations  of  coarse  corn-meal.  Made  out  monthly  returns. 
A  quiet  night. 

"Wednesday,  December  2d.  Pleasant  and  warm.  Gen 
eral  Potter  issued  an  order,  read  to  the  regiment,  honoring 
the  corps  for  good  conduct  during  the  late  encounter  with 
the  rebels. 

"Thursday,  3d.  Usual  picket  firing  during  the  day. 
Reports  are  current  that  the  rebels  are  leaving. 

"Friday,  4th.  Very  quiet.  A  number  of  cows  are  roam 
ing  between  the  lines ;  some  of  them  were  brought  in  by 
the  pickets,  and  we  were  treated  to  fresh  beef.  A  rebel 
battery  fired  a  few  shots  from  our  left,  but  Benjamin  and 
the  Fifteenth  Indiana  soon  made  them  skedaddle.  More 
picket  firing  towards  night,  but  none  during  the  night.  An 
officer  of  General  Sherman's  staff  arrived  in  the  city  with 
information  that  Sherman  was  only  twenty-four  hours  away. 

"  Saturday,  5th.  Very  quiet.  The  rebs  have  left.  Our 
pickets  advanced  after  daylight  without  finding  an  enemy, 
but  picked  up  one  hundred  and  sixty  stragglers  for  pris 
oners,  who  made  no  resistance.  They  were  an  inferior- 
looking  lot  from  Georgia  and  South  Carolina ;  they  were 
tired  of  fighting  and  wished  Bragg  and  Longstreet  were 
hung.  Our  brigade  marched  out  about  four  miles  on  the 
Gap  road  about  10  A.M.,  but  found  no  enemy;  they  left 
last  night,  our  pickets  heard  them  moving.  Their  pickets 


195  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

were  withdrawn  at  2  A.  M.  ;  fires  were  left  burning  to  deceive 
us.  Went  to  work  on  the  pay-rolls  and  requisitions  for 
clothing.  Men  ordered  to  clean  their  guns." 

General  Sherman  arrived  in  the  city  and  surveyed  the 
defences,  visiting  our  battery,  where  he  was  warmly  wel 
comed.  The  success  of  the  whole  campaign  from  Chat 
tanooga  up  was  almost  too  overwhelming  to  be  true. 
General  Longstreet's  army,  disheartened  by  defeat  and 
by  Sherman's  arrival,  had  retired  towards  Virginia  on  the 
Rogersville  road.  Knoxville  had  proved  a  Fredericksburg 
to  them. 

On  the  seventh  our  two  divisions  and  part  of  the 
Twenty -Third  Corps  started  north-eastward,  upon  the 
track  of  the  enemy,  in  light  marching  order,  without  tents. 
Captain  Lyon  took  command  of  the  regiment  for  the 
remainder  of  the  winter.  Major  Wales,  Lieutenant  Berry, 
Sergeant-Major  White,  Sergeants  Bent  and  Castle,  with 
privates  Wellington  and  Matz,  started  for  the  North  by 
way  of  Big  Creek  Gap,  most  of  them  upon  recruiting 
service. 

Our  first  day's  march  was  over  good  roads,  making  rap 
idly  thirteen  miles,  and  going  into  bivouac  in  the  same  line 
of  battle  as  at  Campbell's  Station  —  First  Division  on  the 
right,  Twenty-Third  Corps  in  the  centre  and  Second  Divis 
ion  on  the  left.  Next  day  we  made  but  seven  miles  on  the 
Rogersville  road.  Rations  were  scanty ;  each  man  drew 
one-half  ration  of  pork,  one-quarter  ration  of  flour,  and  to 
eke  out  the  need  picked  up  corn  left  by  the  horses  and  ate 
it  raw  or  parched. 

On  the  ninth  we  made  thirteen  miles  over  muddy  roads, 
with  the  Clinch  Mountains  on  the  left,  and  went  into  biv 
ouac  in  a  bare,  open  valley,  within  two  miles  of  Rutledge 
—  Longstreet  said  to  be  twelve  miles  ahead,  somewhere 
about  Bean's  Station.  The  position  we  had  was  good  for 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  196 

defence;  and,  as  the  enemy  were  too  strong  for  us  to 
attack,  we  awaited  Longstreet's  movements  here  until  the 
fifteenth,  employing  the  days  in  devising  ways  and  means 
to  fill  our  stomachs,  which  the  short  rations  and  winter 
weather  caused  to  be  loud  in  their  appeals  for  more  food. 
Here  the  coffee  mills  came  to  the  rescue  gallantly.  In  the 
Western  armies  the  coffee  berry,  to  prevent  fraud,  was 
issued  burned  but  not  ground,  sometimes  even  unbrowned. 
It  was  soon  found  that  crushing  it  in  a  tin  cup  with  a  bay 
onet  was  too  slow,  and  the  company  cooks  acquired  at 
least  one  old  coffee  mill  to  a  company.  As  the  coffee 
ration  fell  short  and  the  sugar  ration  ceased,  these  mills 
were  turned  to  grinding  grain,  corn  or  wheat,  which  was 
generally  first  parched,  or  partly  broken  by  pounding.  A 
good  part  of  a  man's  time  would  be  taken  up  grinding  in 
his  turn  such  corn  as  he  might  have  found,  begged  or 
appropriated.  The  product  was  cooked  in  our  battered 
tin  dippers,  or  fried  into  "  flippers  "  upon  half  a  canteen 
stuck  upon  a  split  stick. 

The  nights  were  often  cold  and  rainy.  In  these  valleys 
the  air  draws  through  with  great  force,  as  in  a  tunnel,  and 
sometimes  whirls  around  suddenly  to  the  opposite  quarter, 
so  that  the  nicely-constructed  shelter  of  rails,  backed  to 
the  cold  rain  from  the  north,  would  be  found  at  midnight 
open  to  a  driving  storm  from  the  south,  whereupon  the 
inmates  had  their  choice  of  a  shower  bath  or  rousing  out 
to  change  front.  Thus  there  was  employment  for  day  and 
night.  For  amusement,  after  we  had  been  without  a  change 
of  clothing  for  a  fortnight,  individuals  could  be  seen  retired 
apart,  in  dishabille,  examining  their  shirts  with  fixed  atten 
tion  for  gray-backs  of  the  six-legged  species,  which  were 
said  to  be  about  camp. 

The  Twenty-Third  Corps  passed  to  the  rear  at  midnight 
of  the  fourteenth,  and  on  the  fifteenth  we  heard  of  a  skir- 


IQ7  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

mish  at  Bean's  Station  and  ninety  prisoners  were  brought 
in.  About  noon  we  moved  a  little  way  and  formed  line  of 
battle,  remaining  in  position  until  evening,  when  we  marched 
back  six  miles  and  went  into  bivouac  at  one  in  the  morn 
ing.  The  day's  ration  had  been  flour,  and  some  of  the 
wise  ones  had  prepared  for  the  emergency  by  frying  it  into 
griddle  cakes  or  flippers,  while  others  had  their  whole  ration 
mixed  in  their  dippers,  but  uncooked ;  these  gravely  took 
up  the  line  of  retreat,  tin  dippers  in  hand,  and  stumbling 
by  night  over  a  muddy  road  full  of  holes  was  perilous  to 
the  precious  contents  of  those  dippers. 

On  the  sixteenth  we  got  back  to  Blain's  Cross  Roads, 
where  a  halt  was  ordered  for  coffee ;  and,  cannon  being 
heard  in  rear,  division  line  of  battle  was  formed,  and  a 
barricade  of  rails  and  savin  bushes  was  thrown  up  across 
the  valley.  The  most  conspicuous  person  at  times  of 
excitement  during  these  harassing  days  was  Captain  Mc- 
Kibben  of  the  staff  —  dashing  about,  the  cape  of  his  coat 
thrown  back,  showing  its  scarlet  lining,  attended  by  order 
lies  who  were  the  oracles  to  be  consulted  by  us  when 
seeking  to  know  what  our  movements  portended.  The 
mounted  infantry  came  in  from  the  front,  and  an  imme 
diate  attack  was  expected.  The  rain  poured  down  at 
midnight,  but  we  managed  to  catch  a  few  hours'  sleep. 

On  the  seventeenth  the  muskets  were  put  in  order  after 
the  rain,  and  the  regiment  formed  in  one  rank,  taking 
ground  to  the  left.  There  was  light  skirmishing  in  front 
at  noon,  and  our  battery  shelled  the  woods.  The  four  left 
companies  under  Lieutenant  Pope  were  thrown  out  into 
the  woods,  where  they  spent  the  night,  with  low  fires,  much 
more  snugly  than  the  rest  of  the  line,  who  suffered  from 
an  intensely  cold  wind  sweeping  down  the  valley.  Next 
day  the  skirmish  line  was  advanced  a  mile,  but  no  enemy 
was  encountered  in  force,  and  it  was  announced  that  he 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  198 

had  left  our  front.  That  evening  the  paymaster,  Major 
Haggerty,  paid  off  the  regiment  in  a  little  hut  in  front  of 
the  lines. 

On  the  nineteenth  we  moved  into  the  woods  on  the  west 
side  of  the  valley,  near  a  fine  stream  of  water,  and  camp 
was  laid  out  in  company  streets;  but,  as  the  shelter  tents 
were  still  in  Knoxville,  the  bough  huts  were  pitched  in 
rather  an  irregular  fashion,  wtych  characterized  that  camp 
afterwards.  The  nights  became  bitter  cold,  but  the  wood 
pile  was  unlimited,  and  the  fires  blazed  up  bright  and 
cheery.  On  the  twenty-first  and  twenty-second  our  knap 
sacks  and  the  headquarter's  baggage  arrived  with  Quarter 
master  Tobey,  and  were  gladly  welcomed,  for  our  clothing 
was  badly  demoralized.  Many  of  the  men  were  ragged 
and  almost  bare-foot,  no  clothing  having  been  drawn  since 
we  left  Crab  Orchard.  Lieutenant  Tobey  brought  news 
of  General  Burnside's  departure  for  the  North,  and  the 
arrival  of  General  John  G.  Foster,  of  North  Carolina 
memory,  to  command  the  department.  The  mail  came 
along,  and  we  learned  with  what  deep  interest  the  siege 
of  Knoxville  had  been  watched  by  the  Government  and 
the  people  of  the  North.  President  Lincoln,  in  particular, 
was  now  elated  and  thankful  over  the  result,  and  issued  a 
proclamation,  stating  that  the  enemy  had  left  Knoxville 
"under  circumstances  rendering  it  probable  that  the  Union 
forces  cannot  hereafter  be  dislodged  from  that  important 
post,"  and  advising  that  "  all  loyal  people  do,  on  receipt 
of  the  information,  assemble  at  their  places  of  worship 
and  render  special  homage  and  gratitude  to  Almighty  God 
for  the  great  advancement  of  the  national  cause."  Another 
foothold  had  been  gained,  from  which,  as  upon  the  Missis 
sippi,  a  column  could  be  driven  through  the  Confederacy, 
to  separate  another  large  territory  from  the  Richmond 
Government.  The  success  was  as  depressing  to  the  Con- 


199  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

federate  leaders  as  it  was  cheering  to  the  upholders  of  the 
Union. 

On  the  twenty-third  there  was  an  alarm,  and  the  Fifty- 
First  New  York,  Eleventh  New  Hampshire  and  Thirty- 
Fifth  made  a  reconnoissance,  with  a  section  of  Edward's 
battery,  two  miles  out,  the  First  Brigade  going  still  further; 
but  the  foe  had  left.  Returning  to  camp,  we  commenced 
to  log  up  the  tents  and  bui!4  chimneys  of  sticks  and  mud 
in  the  old  Falmouth  fashion,  but  now  with  ample  materials 
at  our  very  doors ;  wood-chopping  and  hauling  employed 
much  of  the  time.  Short  rations  continued  ;  on  Christmas 
Day  there  was  no  bread  all  day,  and  no  other  food  but 
fresh  beef,  issued  at  evening,  for  a  Christmas  dinner;  even 
salt  to  season  it  was  a  luxury.  Pickets  we  kept  posted  up 
the  valley  and  towards  the  Holston,  which  lay  to  the  east 
ward,  and,  as  the  men  upon  this  duty  had  advantages  for 
foraging,  the  position  was  rather  sought  than  avoided,  ex 
cept  by  the  shoeless. 

The  year  1864  opened  writh  rain,  turning  to  snow,  and 
the  weather  very  cold.  The  wind  was  high,  and  dodging 
the  smoke  of  the  camp  fires  was  an  unending  amusement. 
On  the  third  of  January  there  was  no  bread  nor  materials 
for  it  in  camp,  and  two  ears  of  corn  on  the  cob  were  issued 
to  each  man  in  place  of  the  bread  ration  ;  the  grinders  at 
the  mills  thought  it  a  good  substitute,  but  some,  consider 
ing  it  rather  mulish  treatment,  inquired  how  long  it  would 
be  before  the  order  would  come  to  fall  in  for  rations  of 
hay — whereupon  "  Fall  in  for  your  hay  !  "  became  a  camp 
by-word.  Captain  Ingell,  being  asked  how  he  liked  so 
much  meal  diet,  replied,  "  It  is  very  fattening  to  bipeds ; 
besides,  it  tickles  one's  throat  all  the  way  down !  "  The 
Twenty-Third  Corps  and  the  First  Division  had  been  longer 
in  Tennessee  than  we,  and  were  even  worse  off  for  shoes 
and  clothing. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  2OO 

The  older  regiments  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  which  had 
enlisted  in  1861,  were  now  approaching  the  expiration  of 
their  three  years'  term  of  service.  Recruiting  at  home  for 
old  regiments  had  little  success,  and,  to  prevent  the  loss  to 
the  service  of  so  many  old  soldiers,  great  exertions  were 
made  to  secure  their  reenlistment;  among  the  inducements, 
they  were  offered  a  thirty  days'  furlough  to  their  homes. 
On  the  twenty-fifth  of  December  the  proposal  to  reenlist 
was  made  to  the  veteran  Twenty-First  Massachusetts,  and 
within  thirty-six  hours  two-thirds  of  the  men  had  reenlisted 

—  a  brilliant  page  in  the  record  of  that  heroic  regiment. 
Finally,  all  but  about  thirty  of  the  Twenty-First  reenlisted ; 
these  were  transferred  for  a  time  to  our  regiment  on  the 
seventh,  and  the  same  afternoon   the  reenlisted   Twenty- 
First  started  for  home,  in  charge  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
prisoners  from   Longstreet's  forces,  which,  judging  from 
the  men  coming  over  to  us,  were  in  even  more  straitened 
circumstances  than  we,  if  possible. 

On  the  eighth  of  January  the  whole  country  was  clothed 
in  a  mantle  of  snow  two  inches  deep.  Small-pox  was  pre 
vailing  in  the  district,  and  all  the  men  were  vaccinated. 
We  had  read  in  our  youth  of  Valley  Forge  and  the  dark 
days  of  the  Revolution,  and,  outwardly,  the  scenes  about 
us  were  a  renewal  of  history.  We  were  probably  more 
stinted  for  food  but  rather  better  clothed  than  the  Con 
tinental  army,  although  rags  and  tatters  were  conspicuous 
with  us ;  certainly  we  were  not  better  shod,  and  necessity 

—  the   mother  of   invention  —  suggested   that   moccasins 
would  be  better  than  bare  feet  upon  the  snow;  accordingly, 
squares  of  green  hide  were  issued  in  couples,  which  the 
same  old  mother  was  to  teach  each  man  how  to  make  into 
foot-wear.     They  were  laughable  affairs  when  made,  and 
put  one  in  mind  of  the  foot  of  an  elephant.     The  boys 
called   these  moccasins   "  thanks-of-Congress-shoes,"  and 


201  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

their  ragged  pantaloons  "  stars-and-stripes  trousers."  The 
meat  rations  were  eked  out  by  purchasing  livers,  hearts 
and  tails;  and  tripe  became  fashionable.  The  poor  beef- 
on-the-hoof,  starved  for  days,  when  slaughtered  was  found 
to  be  almost  without  tallow  —  even  the  kidney  fat  frizzling 
away  to  nothing  in  the  frying-pan.  Nearly  every  other  day 
a  half-ration  of  hard  bread  was  issued ;  but  the  rough  jour 
ney  over  the  mountains  had  broken  the  crackers  into  such 
small  bits  it  was  difficult  to  divide  them  fairly.  A  common 
way  was  for  the  company  cook  to  arrange  the  pieces  upon 
a  board,  as  many  piles  as  there  were  men  in  the  company, 
each  pile  containing  what  seemed  to  him  enough  fragments 
to  make  a  cracker.  The  men  of  the  company  then  filed 
by,  and  each  one  pointed  out  the  pile  which  seemed  to  him 
largest,  and  received  it  for  his  ration.  It  was  fair  play, 
but  slow  work ;  but  time  just  then  was  not  valuable  in  the 
cook-house  —  the  fires  were  not  overworked.  The  surgeon 
had  no  patients ;  all  present  were  as  healthy  as  they  were 
tough. 

Rev.  T.  B.  Fox,  of  Boston,  visited  camp  at  this  time  to 
give  us  a  word  of  encouragement,  although  he  had  no 
special  errand  to  us,  we  not  being  old  enough  as  a  regi 
ment  to  reenlist.  Those  of  the  men  who  wished  to  hear 
were  drawn  up  in  a  half  circle  to  listen ;  and,  out  of  mis 
chief,  the  most  ragged  trousers  and  moccasin  men  were 
put  in  front,  while  the  rear  rank  thrust  their  tattered 
elbows  over  the  shoulders  of  their  file  leaders.  A  photo 
graph  of  the  scene  would  be  worth  having.  The  kind 
gentleman  hardly  knew  what  to  say  to  such  a  beggarly- 
looking  crowd ;  but  the  boys  were  fat  in  spite  of  slim  diet, 
and  their  eyes  twinkled  with  merriment,  which  proved  how 
little  the  present  hardships  penetrated.  Those  were  tough 
times,  but  not  of  discouragement ;  in  this,  the  inward  spirit, 
our  men  differed  from  the  heroes  of  Valley  Forge  —  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  2O2 

prospect  before  us  was  brighter  and  more  promising  of 
success. 

Two  men  from  each  company,  daily,  were  given  passes 
to  go  outside  the  pickets  upon  foraging  excursions,  to 
wheedle  from  the  needy  inhabitants  some  portion  of  their 
little  store  of  food  or  seed  corn  in  exchange  for  coffee, 
salt,  or  —  least  available — greenbacks.  The  limestone  hills 
about  us  contained  deep,  half-explored  caverns,  adorned 
with  fairy  grottos  and  glistening  stalactites,  undisturbed 
by  tourists,  and  fascinating  for  exploration ;  and  the  view 
from  the  uplands  of  a  fine  day  towards  the  Great  Smoky 
Mountains  upon  the  North  Carolina  line,  rising  tier  above 
tier  in  purple  majesty,  was  a  rich  experience  to  the  wan 
dering  forager,  even  if  he  found  no  food  to  satisfy  bodily 
hunger. 

A  few  pairs  of  shoes  were  distributed  soon  after  the 
moccasin  day,  and  were  received  as  prophetic  of  marching 
orders,  which  came  on  the  sixteenth  of  January.  The 
Fourth  Corps,  under  General  Gordon  Granger,  had  come 
in  contact  with  Longstreet  in  the  country  south  of  the 
Holston,  and  it  became  necessary  for  our  army  to  con 
centrate.  In  the  early  morning  the  frozen  ground  made 
decent  roads,  but  when  the  sun  had  risen  and  penetrated 
an  inch  or  two  the  surface  came  off  from  the  frozen  sub 
stratum  with  every  step,  and  the  feet  became  clogged  with 
huge  lumps  of  sticky  mud,  which  made  marching  desperate 
work  and  often  very  laughable.  The  short-legged  fellows 
got  the  worst  of  it,  for  they  had  most  footprints  to  make 
and  less  power  to  sling  their  hoofs.  Adjutant  Meserve's 
horse  slipped  suddenly  upon  the  uncertain  footing,  and 
came  down  upon  his  haunches  in  a  way  to  endanger  his 
rider,  but  fortunately  without  harming  him.  This  happened 
after  we  had  passed  south  through  the  isolated  hills  called 
the  Knobs,  and  approached  the  Holston  at  the  Strawberry 


203  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Plains  crossing.  The  brigade  moved  up  over  the  hills  over 
looking  the  river,  which  wound  around  from  north-east 
to  south-west,  and  was  crossed  in  a  bend  by  the  railroad 
bridge,  successor  to  the  one  destroyed  by  General  Sanders 
in  the  raid  of  the  previous  June.  We  went  into  bivouac  in 
the  woods  upon  the  hill ;  afterwards  we  moved  over  into 
the  dell  behind  it.  General  Longstreet  had  unexpectedly 
marched  southward  to  Dandridge,  on  the  French  Broad 
River,  as  if  to  flank  us  towards  Knoxville ;  hence  our 
movement  hither  in  support  of  the  Fourth  Corps. 

Our  Second  Division  headquarters  were  now  broken  up. 
So  many  regiments  had  reenlisted,  the  only  regiments  left 
in  the  division  were  the  Second-  Maryland,  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire  and  Thirty-Fifth.  Quartermaster  Upton  re 
turned,  and  Captain  Gibson  joined  from  Kentucky ;  they 
did  not  stay  long  with  the  regiment,  but  resigned,  and  about 
the  twenty-eighth  or  twenty-ninth  left  for  the  North.  Gibson 
was  the  last  of  the  original  captains  of  the  regiment. 

Appearances  in  front  began  to  look  squally;  the  infantry 
on  foot  and  mounted  came  slowly  back  over  the  railroad 
bridge,  and  General  Ferrero  made  preparations  to  burn 
the  structure  when  the  enemy  should  appear.  We  had 
several  light  snow  storms,  and  smoky  fires  caused  sore 
eyes.  While  waiting  the  men  began  to  log  up  again,  but 
work  was  stopped  on  the  twenty-first,  when  orders  came  to 
strike  tents  and  pack  up.  A  lively  duel  began  across  the 
river  between  the  opposing  batteries;  but  from  our  position 
in  the  woods  little  could  be  seen  —  a  few  solid  shot  came 
over  doing  no  harm.  Details  of  men  were  sent  to  the 
station  for  fresh  pork,  left  behind  by  some  commissary, 
and  about  midnight  the  brigade  moved  up  to  the  station. 
Two  cannon  had  been  left  for  lack  of  horses  to  draw  them ; 
one  of  them  was  taken  in  charge  by  the  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire,  and  the  Second  Maryland  and  Thirty-Fifth 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  204 

took  the  other.  The  rope  prolonges  were  hitched  on,  and 
the  men  taking  hold  as  upon  the  rope  of  a  fire-engine  we 
started  on  the  road  to  Knoxville.  It  was  a  repetition  of 
the  night  before  the  battle  at  Campbell's  Station,  but  not 
so  dark ;  the  deep  mud  was  partly  frozen,  and  tugging 
away,  each  man  his  pound,  the  guns  made  slow  but  sure 
progress.  At  daybreak  the  column  reached  the  railroad 
bridge  over  Flat  Creek,  and  the  cannon  were  handed  over 
to  other  troops,  who  hauled  them  to  a  place  where  they 
were  loaded  upon  cars  and  started  south.  While  making 
coffee,  a  few  cavalry  overcoats  were  distributed  gratis,  to 
save  them  from  the  enemy ;  but  the  demand  was  greater 
than  the  supply. 

Keeping  along  slowly  towards  Knoxville,  we  turned  off 
to  the  left,  south  from  the  railroad,  into  the  Knoxville  road 
near  Knave's  farm,  and,  loading  muskets,  prepared  to  meet 
the  advancing  enemy.  They,  however,  appeared  to  be  in 
weak  force,  and,  after  engaging  our  skirmishers  and  finding 
us  ready,  declined  to  come  on  —  a  few  spent  bullets  came 
over  and  that  was  all.  The  Twenty-Seventh  Michigan 
advanced  and  drove  them  off.  We  were  out  of  rations 
and  very  tired  ;  our  sleep  was  undisturbed.  Early  on  the 
twenty-third  General  Ferrero  came  along  and  gave  infor 
mation  that  the  foe  had  retired  ;  Longstreet  was  not  con 
templating  another  siege  of  Knoxville.  The  troops  were 
ordered  into  camp  on  the  ground.  The  quartermaster 
reported  that  we  should  have  plenty  of  rations  before 
night,  and  there  was  need,  for  we  had  received  no  bread 
for  three  days  and  only  half  a  ration  of  flour  —  a  diet  of 
fresh  pork  alone  is  not  inviting.  In  the  evening  there  was 
an  issue  of  four  days'  half-rations  of  hard  bread  and  flour, 
and  quarter-rations  of  coffee  and  sugar,  and  a  fair  supply 
of  clothes  —  said  to  have  come  up  river  in  a  steamboat. 
The  roads  over  the  mountains  had  become  impassable ; 


205  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

our  supplies,  if  they  can  be  called  such,  came  from  Nash 
ville  by  way  of  Chattanooga,  Grant's  army  having  the  first 
pick.  Living  off  the  country,  when  that  country  has  been 
already  skinned  by  a  Confederate  army,  is  sucking  a  very 
dry  bone  indeed. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  of  January  we  kept  on  south, 
passing  through  the  city  and  five  miles  beyond,  to  Erin's 
Station  or  Lyon's  Mill.  Here,  upon  a  sunny,  wooded  slope, 
inclining  to  the  south  into  a  dell,  where  the  road  and  a 
clear  brook  crossed  the  front,  the  brigade  laid  out  a  reg 
ular  camp,  with  regimental  headquarters  up  the  hill,  com 
pany  streets  leading  down.  This  was  the  pleasantest  camp 
ground  that  winter.  The  weather  became  milder  and  like 
early  spring  —  the  boys  even  bathed  in  the  creek  —  and, 
had  the  food  question  been  less  pressing,  the  situation  for 
winter  could  hardly  have  been  improved ;  but  the  half  and 
quarter  rations  were  continued  so  long  as  we  remained  in 
Tennessee.  On  one  occasion  in  this  camp  sick-wheat  flour 
was  issued.  Foraging  was  absolutely  necessary  for  sub 
sistence  ;  but  the  people,  though  friendly,  had  already 
parted  with  whatever  they  could  reasonably  be  asked  to 
spare. 

All  sorts  of  rumors  floated  into  camp  about  the  Ninth 
Corps  being  ordered  to  the  North.  It  was  plain  that,  if 
the  organization  of  the  corps  was  to  be  maintained,  it 
would  be  cheaper  for  the  Government  to  transport  North 
the  few  regiments  still  in  Tennessee  than  to  bring  back 
the  reenlisted  veterans.  With  this  reasonable  ground  for 
expectation,  we  listened  to  every  story,  however  absurd, 
with  interest ;  Captain  Rapelji  seemed  to  be  the  oracle, 
at  least  he  was  always  referred  to  as  the  authority  and 
source  of  rumor.  There  was  also  some  talk  about  filling 
up  the  regiments  with  East  Tennesseeans ;  but  this 
amounted  to  nothing. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  206 

On  the  twenty-eighth  Captain  Hudson  returned  from 
hospital  at  Knoxville.  Forage  had  become  so  limited  in 
supply  that  most  of  the  horses  and  mules  were  sent  over 
the  mountains.  On  the  first  of  February  a  hurried  move 
was  made  to  Knoxville,  where  we  crossed  the  pontoons  to 
the  south  side  and  climbed  through  the  mud  to  Housetop 
Mountain,  and  spent  the  night  there,  returning  to  camp 
next  day.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  movement  in  support 
of  General  Sturgis,  who  was  up  the  French  Broad  River 
with  cavalry  and  had  captured  two  steel  guns  and  one 
hundred  prisoners,  finally  falling  back  towards  Maryville. 

Company  drills  and  dress-parades  were  resumed,  but 
the  display  was  small,  at  one  time  eight  companies  march 
ing  out  under  sergeants.  The  officers  in  camp  were : 
Captain  Lyon,  commanding ;  Captains  Ingell,  Hudson 
and  Blanchard ;  Assistant-Surgeon  Roche ;  Lieutenants 
Pope,  Meserve  (adjutant),  Tobey  (quartermaster)  and 
Dunbar.  There  were  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  enlisted 
men  present  for  duty,  armed.  A  common  camp  cry  during 
these  months  of  frequent  alarms  was,  "  I  hear  a  gun ! " 
"  I  hear  another ! "  but  the  shout  peculiar  to  this  camp 
was  to  cry  out  when  a  rider  passed,  "There  he  goes  — 
stop  him ! "  which  often  quite  disconcerted  the  wayfarer, 
the  object  of  such  uncalled-for  attention,  and  not  seldom 
thoroughly  angered  him.  The  band  of  the  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire  furnished  music  for  dress-parades,  as  at  Fal- 
mouth. 

The  vendetta  waged  between   loyal   and   disloyal   Ten- 

•  nesseeans  found  a  victim  close  by  our  camp  —  a  citizen 

of  Secesh  proclivities,  while  at  work  upon  the  roof  of  his 

cabin,  was  shot  by  another  from  an  ambush  —  a  dangerous 

wound,  but  not  fatal,  in  Dr.  Roche's  opinion. 

Hunger  pressed  us  closely,  and,  as  often  noticed  in  like 
circumstances,  the  mind  turned  of  itself  to  this  theme  at 


207  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

leisure  moments,  and  the  fancy  painted  the  delights  of  the 
well-spread  tables  of  the  past.  In  the  dark,  mild  evenings 
the  boys  would  gather  around  the  glorious  camp-fires  — 
one  of  our  luxuries,  the  other  being  abundant  good  water 
—  and  one  man  after  another,  in  turn,  would  relate  some 
past  events  of  his  life,  dwelling  long  upon  the  eatables 
portion.  One  old  wanderer,  who  had  been  cook  on  board 
a  mackerel  schooner,  set  forth  the  ample  provender  he 
furnished  —  brown  bread  and  beans,  plum  duff,  dumplings 
and  molasses,  etc.,  all  of  the  most  substantial  kinds,  until 
the  stomachs  of  his  auditors  fairly  ached,  and  they  shouted, 
"  Enough  of  that;  lets  go  and  get  a  drink  of  water  !  "  On 
the  tenth  of  February,  one  diary  states,  "I  have  eaten 
nothing  for  twenty-four  hours  except  some  flour  cooked  " — 
the  cooking  being  simply  boiling  in  water  with  a  little  salt. 

Under  these  circumstances,  news  came  into  camp  of  a 
vote  of  thanks  passed  by  Congress,  January  28,  1864: 
"The  thanks  of  Congress  are  hereby  presented  to  Major- 
General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside,  and  through  him  to  the 
officers  and  men  who  have  fought  under  his  command,  for 
their  gallantry,  good  conduct  and  soldier-like  endurance." 
So  the  boys  felt  that  they  were  not  so  far  buried  in  the 
mountains  as  to  be  entirely  forgotten. 

General  Foster's  health  failing — an  old  wound  reopening 
—  he  was  relieved  by  General  Schofield  about  the  middle 
of  February.  A  change  of  commanders  brought  also  a 
change  of  our  camp.  On  the  sixth  of  February  General 
Grant  had  telegraphed  to  General  Thomas,  "Two  divisions 
have  gone  to  Longstreet ;  he  is  reenforced  by  troops  from 
the  East.  This  makes  it  evident  the  enemy  intend  to 
secure  East  Tennessee  if  they  can,"  etc.  On  the  fourteenth 
Genera]  Schofield  telegraphed  to  General  Thomas,  "  Long- 
street  has  advanced  to  Strawberry  Plains  with  pontoon- 
boats,"  and  asked  for  reinforcements. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  2o8 

In  a  pouring  rain,  on  the  fifteenth,  we  moved  a  few  miles, 
through  the  mud  and  over  swollen  brooks,  to  the  west  side 
of  the  railroad  and  nearer  the  city.  The  Fourth  Corps 
also  passed  us,  going  towards  the  town.  Next  day  there 
was  an  inspection  with  knapsacks,  but  the  wood-choppers 
kept  busy  logging  up  again;  they  had  hardly  got  their 
trees  down  when  orders  came  for  a  change  of  camp  to 
a  better  location,  about  a  mile  west  from  town.  Here 
logging-up  proceeded  again,  and  made  better  progress. 
The  regiment  was  inspected  by  a  lieutenant-colonel  of 
General  Grant's  staff.  It  was  colder,  and  on  the  twenty- 
first  snow  fell. 

On  the  twenty-second  the  band  played  "  Washington's 
March"  and  "Yankee  Doodle."  Details  of  men  were  at 
work  upon  the  forts  about  the  city,  that  everything  might 
be  in  readiness  in  case  Longstreet  should  come  on.  At 
evening  the  regiment  was  agreeably  surprised  by  the  infor 
mation  that  Colonel  Carruth  had  arrived  at  brigade  head 
quarters.  The  boys  got  together  to  go  down  and  welcome 
him;  but,  he  being  tired,  they. gave  it  up  for  the  night. 
Next  morning  the  colonel  came  into  camp ;  the  men  rallied, 
and  gave  him  nine  rousing  cheers.  At  dress-parade,  the 
regiment  forming  three  sides  of  a  square,  the  colonel  ad 
dressed  them.  He  thanked  them  for  their  good  behavior, 
while  he  had  been  gone,  in  face  of  the  enemy  and  in 
camp.  He  had  watched  for  all  the  news  he  could  hear 
from  them  while  he  was  at  home,  and  had  heard  nothing 
but  praise.  He  was  very  sorry  that  it  so  happened  he 
could  not  have  shared  their  privations,  hardships  and 
dangers  during  the  East  Tennessee  campaign,  and  was  in 
hopes  that  their  future  campaigns  would  be  less  arduous 
and  that  all  might  be  spared  to  see  their  homes  once  more. 
All  he  could  ask  of  them  in  the  future  was  to  conduct 
themselves  as  they  had  done.  In  conclusion,  he  hoped 


209  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

that  his  health  would  be  spared  him,  so  that  he  might  not 
leave  them  again  until  he  led  them  home  at  the  expiration 
of  their  service.  At  evening  he  was  serenaded  by  the 
brigade  band  —  the  first  piece  being  "Home  Again."  The 
colonel  took  command  of  the  brigade. 

At  midnight  the  sergeant-major  went  the  rounds,  with 
orders  to  be  ready  to  march  at  daylight.  Accordingly,  on 
the  twenty-fourth,  reveille  sounded  at  half-past  four ;  tents 
were  struck,  and  we  started  with  knapsacks,  and  camped 
again  at  Strawberry  Plains,  after  a  march  of  nineteen 
miles,  which,  as  we  moved  rapidly  and  long  distances 
without  the  customary  halts,  made  a  hard  day's  work. 
General  Schofield  passed  twice,  and  Generals  Parke, 
Wilcox  and  Ferrero  were  with  the  troops.  It  began  to 
appear  that  Schofield  was  a  driver.  The  Fourth  and 
Twenty-Third  Corps  were  on  the  move  as  well  as  our 
corps. 

Next  day,  resting  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  river  and 
ruins  of  the  bridge,  we  got  a  mail,  which  contained  infor 
mation  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  expected  North  by  way 
of  Chattanooga.  On  the  contrary,  we  received  orders, 
February  26,  to  prepare  for  a  fifteen  days'  march,  with 
shelter  tent  and  blanket  roll  only,  one  hundred  rounds  of 
cartridges  per  man,  and  five  days'  rations.  It  had  the 
appearance  of  a  raid  on  the  Virginia  salt  works,  following 
retiring  Longstreet.  The  bridge  being  gone,  a  double 
ferry  was  rigged  of  pontoon-boats,  three  boats  to  each 
rope,  each  boat  transporting  twenty-five  men  at  a  time. 
The  regiment  after  crossing  marched  to  the  high  ground 
beside  a  ploughed  field  and  camped.  Company  K,  detailed 
to  guard  the  train,  which  crossed  at  a  ford  above,  had  a 
hard  march  that  day.  On  the  twenty-eighth  we  proceeded 
to  Mossy  Creek  —  Confederate  cavalry  retiring  as  we  ap 
proached —  and,  on  the  morrow,  to  Morristown  and  a  mile 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  2IO 

beyond.  Many  will  remember  the  rainy  time  we  had  at 
this  place ;  the  whole  country  was  flooded  ;  it  was  like  the 
old  north-easters  at  home,  and  turned  freezing  cold  at  night. 
A  heavy  and  watchful  picket  was  thrown  out,  for  we  were 
close  to  the  enemy  in  force. 

Morristown  had  been  General  Longstreet's  winter  quar 
ters  ;  the  citizens  appeared  very  neutral,  and  wisely  so,  for 
with  the  armies  of  the  Union  and  of  the  Confederacy 
dancing  to  and  fro,  forward  and  back,  over  them,  it  was 
best  not  to  be  too  demonstrative.  Our  movements  were 
but  a  repetition  of  the  famous  campaigns  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  with  points  of  compass  reversed.  We  visited  these 
people  unexpectedly,  and  on  the  second  of  March  we  as 
suddenly  took  an  early  departure  on  the  back  track  as  far 
as  Mossy  Creek.  This  may  have  been,  however,  not  a 
retreat,  for  the  other  corps  did  not  share  it,  but  simply  a 
precautionary  change  to  protect  the  right  flank  to  the  east 
ward  along  the  Nolichucky  River.  Our  front  was  quiet 
except  in  the  direction  of  the  bends  of  the  Chucky,  whence 
frequent  alarms  came  in  of  East  Tennessee  or  North  Car 
olina  refugees  cutting  their  way  into  the  Union  lines,  or 
of  Confederate  cavalry  lurking  about  that  front.  But, 
upon  the  whole,  the  camp  at  Mossy  Creek  was  very  quiet, 
except  some  noisy  debates  among  the  men  upon  questions 
of  politics  and  theology,  gotten  up  for  amusement,  but 
too  vociferous  for  headquarters  to  endure  without  re 
monstrance.  The  penmen  were,  as  usual,  busy  upon 
pay-rolls  and  returns  to  the  departments.  Colonel  Har- 
riman  came  up  with  recruits  for  the  Eleventh  New 
Hampshire,  and  Sergeants  Farrington  and  Chamberlin  and 
a  squad  of  detailed  men  arrived  from  Kentucky.  March 
5,  Schofield  telegraphed  to  Thomas,  "Longstreet  is  slowly 
moving  towards  Virginia." 

On  the  twelfth  we  moved  east  again,  this  time  upon  the 


211  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Chucky  road,  with  little  halting,  an  advance  guard  under 
Lieutenant  Pope  marching  some  distance  in  front.  Thir 
teen  miles  were  covered  before  the  two  hours'  rest  for 
dinner ;  then  the  Second  Maryland  and  Thirty-Fifth  went 
in  advance,  scouting  six  miles  out,  much  of  the  way  at  the 
double-quick  to  keep  up  with  our  cavalry.  It  was  fun  to 
see  the  colonel  dashing  ahead  on  his  white  horse,  and  the 
men  hurrying  along  so  rapidly  made  the  chase  quite  en 
livening.  Our  packs  were  left  at  the  halting  place  under 
guard.  The  cavalry  overtook  the  enemy,  killing  one  and 
capturing  two.  The  prisoners  were  delivered  to  us  and 
escorted  back  to  the  resting  place ;  one  of  them,  a  butter 
nut  clad  youngster,  enacted  the  hero,  and  certainly  bestrode 
his  horse  in  gallant  fashion.  Companies  C  and  K  were 
left  at  the  halting  place,  while  the  rest  of  the  regiment 
marched  one  or  two  miles  on  the  cross-road  towards  Mor- 
ristown,  and  went  into  bivouac  among  a  lot  of  knobby  hills, 
making  twenty-five  miles  for  the  day's  run.  Next  morning 
we  marched  into  Morristown.  This  was  our  last  duty  at 
the  front  in  East  Tennessee. 

There  was  a  large  force  about  Morristown,  judging  from 
the  spread  of  tent  cloth  —  Fourth  and  Twenty-Third  Corps 
troops.  Knapsacks  came  up  from  Knoxville,  and  we  pitched 
a  regular  camp.  Quite  unexpectedly,  Lieutenant  Pope, 
Sergeant  Worcester,  Corporal  Hague  and  several  others 
were  detailed  to  proceed  North  on  recruiting  service,  by 
order  of  the  War  Department ;  they  left  on  the  fourteenth 
of  March.  On  the  seventeenth,  what  remained  of  the 
Ninth  Corps  fell  in  at  half-past  five  in  the  morning,  the 
adjutant,  before  moving,  reading  an  order  about  straggling; 
and,  by  the  way,  straggling  was  almost  unknown  in  this 
campaign.  The  teamsters  were  ordered  to  tell  the  citizens 
that  we  were  bound  for  Chucky  Bend;  but  the  band  struck 
up  "  Saint  Patrick's  Day  in  the  Morning "  and  "  Home 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  212 

Again,"  and  the  report  quickly  circulated  that  we  were 
bound  for  Annapolis  in  Maryland.  With  light  hearts  the 
boys  stepped  off  that  morning.  Thus  we  parted  from  the 
Fourth  and  Twenty-Third  Corps,  our  tried  companions  of 
that  winter  of  hardship ;  they  remained  to  follow  Long- 
street  towards  the  Virginia  line,  then  to  join  General 
Sherman  in  the  campaign  to  Atlanta;  we,  by  the  long 
route  over  the  mountains,  marched  to  face  Longstreet 
again  in  the  Wilderness  campaign. 

We  were  beyond  New  Market  at  evening,  and,  next  day, 
passed  Strawberry  Plains,  the  pontoons  over  the  Holston 
and  Flat  Creek,  to  within  seven  miles  of  Knoxville,  re 
viewing  the  old  camp  grounds  for  the  last  time.  Reaching 
Knoxville  in  the  morning,  we  had  a  spell  of  "bone-shaking" 
winds,  piercing  chills  from  the  mountains,  which  made  it 
almost  impossible  to  get  warm,  however  closely  one  crept 
to  the  fire.  All  extra  luggage  and  the  regimental  baggage 
were  sent  around  through  Chattanooga,  Nashville  and 
Louisville,  with  the  sick  or  disabled  men,  by  rail.  The 
Second  Division  was  divided  into  two  brigades  —  Colonel 
Titus,  of  the  Ninth  New  Hampshire,  taking  the  first,  and 
Colonel  Carruth  commanding  the  second.  We  were  to 
march  to  Kentucky  by  way  of  Jacksboro  Gap  and  Point 
Burnside. 

WTe  took  the  road  at  9.30  A.  M.  on  the  twenty-first  of 
March  and  reached  Clinton  at  dark,  camping  on  the  bank 
of  Clinch  River  opposite  the  town.  On  the  twenty-second, 
crossed  the  Clinch  on  flat  boats,  and  marched  in  the  snow 
over  swollen  brooks  —  sometimes  crossed  by  a  slippery 
log — -to  camp  not  far  from  Jacksboro.  March  23d,  halted 
at  Jacksboro  and  drew  full  rations  of  everything :  bacon 
sides,  pork,  hard  bread,  coffee  and  sugar;  the  first  full 
rations  since  leaving  Crab  Orchard  last  October.  If  to 
remember  Mississippi  makes  one  thirsty,  one  needs  but 


213  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

recall  Tennessee  to  feel  hungry  as  well.  Pack  mules  were 
received  to  carry  officers'  luggage,  in  place  of  wagons. 
On  leaving  Jacksboro  the  way  led  directly  up  the  side  of 
Elk  Mountain,  a  tough  climb ;  but  when  the  summit  was 
attained  and,  looking  back,  we  saw  the  lovely  valleys  and 
mountains  of  East  Tennessee  spread  beneath  us,  a  pang 
of  regret  and  ingratitude  struck  us  that  we  could  leave  so 
picturesque  and  interesting  a  country  with  cheerful  smiles. 
Before  the  ascent,  a  wretched  style  of  joke  was  perpe 
trated  by  putting  large  stones  into  a  victim's  knapsack,  for 
him  to  "tote  "  to  the  top  —  full  rations  with  a  vengeance  I 
At  night,  camp  was  located  near  a  tannery. 

March  24th,  passed  through  grand  mountain  scenery, 
log  houses  and  cornfields,  to  bivouac  on  a  hill-side ;  a 
frosty  night. 

March  25th,  marched  through  Chitwoods  and  crossed 
the  line  between  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  The  band 
struck  up  "  Farewell  to  Old  Tennessee "  and  "  Arn't 
you  glad  to  get  out  of  the  Wilderness ;  "  the  boys  gave 
three  cheers  for  the  appropriate  selections.  Camped  in 
a  grove. 

March  26th,  we  plodded  on  over  steep  hills  and  roads 
deep  with  mud,  halting  at  Beaver  Creek,  in  a  pine  grove,  to 
draw  rations ;  here  we  met  wagons  from  Burnside's  Point, 
to  carry  the  knapsacks  of  disabled  men.  We  passed  that 
day  more  than  two  hundred  dead  mules :  these  sharp  hills 
and  heavy  roads  were  killing  to  them.  Poor  creatures ! 
they  had  died  in  the  effort  to  keep  us  supplied  with  food 
during  the  past  winter ;  but  their  remains  were  more 
odorous  than  lovely,  and  it  was  not  pleasant  when  passing 
a  deep  hole  to  spring  for  a  seeming  rock  and  have  the  foot 
slide  upon  the  carcass  of  a  defunct  mule.  The  mountains 
were  full  of  holly  bush,  with  red  berries,  and  clumps  of 
trailing  arbutus. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  214 

March  2yth,  reached  Burnside's  Point  at  the  forks  of  the 
Cumberland  River,  a  depot  of  supplies  at  the  head  of 
steamboat  navigation.  Halting  there  from  eight  in  the 
morning  until  noon,  we  enjoyed  some  of  the  sights  of 
civilization  ;  among  them  a  table  with  a  white  cloth,  knives 
and  forks,  and  a  napkin  !  but  our  boys  were  too  barbarous 
for  the  sutlers  —  the  penniless  troops  were  inclined  to  ap 
propriate  the  eatables  without  pay,  and  doors  had  to  be 
closed.  The  Seventh  Rhode  Island  had  been  posted  here 
for  three  months  past.  Here  Weston  F.  Hutchins  joined 
the  regiment ;  the  first  recruit  to  join  the  Thirty-Fifth 
since  the  regiment  had  entered  the  service.  He  had  tried 
to  enlist  at  Lynnfield,  but  was  rejected  then  on  account  of 
his  minority.  In  the  afternoon  we  crossed  the  Cumber 
land  on  a  pontoon-bridge,  and  passed  through  Somerset, 
bands  playing  and  colors  flying. 

March  28th,  through  Waynesborough  to  camp  in  the 
woods. 

March  29th,  the  Thirty-Fifth  in  its  turn  led  the  column. 
We  passed  through  Hall's  Gap,  an  interesting  place,  well 
fortified,  the  road  winding  along  the  hill-sides,  enabling  the 
column  to  see  and  admire  the  romantic  appearance  of  the 
long  train  of  marching  troops.  Camped  at  last  upon  the 
blue-grass  lands  again. 

March  3oth,  the  Thirty-Fifth  in  rear  of  all.  Passed 
through  Stanford  at  eight  in  the  morning  and  reached  Old 
Lancaster  at  noon,  marching  fast.  Here  we  began  to 
meet  our  detailed  men,  who  had  passed  the  winter  in 
Kentucky,  looking  sleek  and  clean.  "  Ah,"  they  remarked, 
"you  look  rather  tough  !" — we  should  think  so  !  The  cli 
mate  was  sensibly  colder,  and  many  had  coughs,  barking 
all  night  in  bivouac. 

March  3ist,  without  a  halt,  passed  Hickman's  Bridge 
and  Camp  Nelson,  and  pitched  tents  at  old  Camp  Parke, 


215  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

now  under  leafless  trees,  desolate  and  soaked  in  rain ;  a 
stormy  night.  Clothing  distributed  in  the  evening. 

On  this  march  from  Knoxville  the  division  had  tramped 
one  hundred  and  seventy  miles  in  eleven  successive  days, 
averaging  over  fifteen  miles  a  day,  over  the  roughest  and 
muddiest  of  mountain  roads. 

April  ist,  we  marched  to  the  railroad  station  at  Nicholas- 
ville  and  slept  in  a  storehouse,  and  next  day,  taking  cars, 
reached  Covington  at  three  in  the  morning  of  the  third, 
and  stacked  arms  near  the  barracks.  Crossing  to  Cincin 
nati  in  the  afternoon,  we  left  by  rail  at  dark,  over  the  same 
route  we  had  traversed  in  coming  West,  just  a  year  before. 
In  Pittsburg,  on  the  fifth,  we  were  served  with  a  bountiful 
collation ;  mottoes  were  displayed,  "  Welcome  to  our 
Country's  Defenders  !  "  "  Welcome  the  Ninth !  " 

April  6th,  Harrisburg  and  coffee  at  the  Soldier's  Rest. 
Baltimore  in  the  evening,  and  quarters  in  a  building  on 
South  Eutaw  Street ;  a  few  were  entertained  at  the  Sol 
diers'  Home,  where,  one  diary  notes,  the  soldier  "slept  in 
a  bed  for  the  first  time  since  leaving  home,  almost  two 
years  ago."  On  the  seventh,  by  steamboat  Columbia,  to 
Annapolis. 

As  we  passed  thus  swiftly  through  the  cities  of  the  pros 
perous  North,  we  seemed  strangers  and  alien  to  the  soil. 
These  people  had  ample  food  and  warm  places  to  sleep  at 
night,  undisturbed  by  the  constant  watchfulness  of  the 
front.  How  different  was  our  daily  life  !  Yet  hard  as  our 
experience  had  been  that  winter,  who  that  endured  it  all 
would  now  change  the  remembrance  for  as  many  months 
of  inglorious  ease  at  home  ?  Much  as  we  suffered  in  Ten 
nessee,  not  a  few  declared  that  when  peace  should  come 
they  would  like  nothing  better  than  to  return  there  — 
few  have  done  so.  One  member  of  the  regiment  who 
revisited  those  scenes  in  1870,  says  that  the  earthworks 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  2l6 

were  then  standing  about  Knoxville  much  as  we  left  them  ; 
the  wood  in  front  of  our  picket  line  had  been  cut  down, 
and  in  the  open  country  beyond  the  city  cemetery  was 
the  National  Cemetery.  Examining  the  books  of  the 
superintendent,  the  name  of  Ezra  Currier,  of  Company  B, 
was  the  only  one  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  whose  grave  was 
marked  with  his  name ;  the  other  dead  were  removed 
from  the  city  lot  where  first  interred,  and  their  head-boards 
marked  "unknown." 

After  the  war,  Major  Wales  received  the  brevet  rank  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Colonel,  for  conspicuous  gallantry 
in  command  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  Infantry  at 
Knoxville,  Tennessee. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

VIRGINIA    AGAIN WILDERNESS    CAMPAIGN,   1864. 

LANDING,  April  yth,  at  Annapolis  —  where  Burnside's 
Expedition  had  been  organized  for  the  North  Caro 
lina  campaign  in  December,  1861  — the  regiment  marched 
out  by  the  brick  buildings  and  grounds  of  the  United 
States  Naval  .'Academy,  through  streets  deep  with  yellow 
mud,  to  camp  beyond  the  railroad  station  ;  moving  further 
out  next  day  to  a  sandy  plain  about  two  miles  from  the 
town  and  opposite  the  Parole  Camp.  We  learned  that 
there  were  some  twenty  thousand  troops  about  us  intended 
for  the  Ninth  Corps,  to  be  formed  into  four  divisions,  the 
Fourth  Division  to  be  composed  of  colored  troops,  under 
command  of  General  Ferrero.  The  destination  of  the  re- 
.  organized  Ninth  Corps  was  not  disclosed,  but  several 
things  were  pointed  out  to  indicate  an  expedition  on  the 
Southern  coast :  General  Burnside  was  to  command  —  he 
had  hitherto  generally  held  an  independent  position,  and 
probably  would  not  be  placed  in  the  Potomac  Army  under 
his  junior,  General  Meade  ;  the  location  of  the  camp  upon 
a  salt  water  harbor  looked  as  if  shipping  was  to  be  em 
ployed  ;  the  colored  troops  could  hardly  be  intended  for 
the  aristocratic  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  newspapers 
and  officers  of  the  new  regiments  favored  the  expedition 
theory.  This  served  for  camp  and  mess-table  talk ;  but 
all  were  very  busy  preparing  for  an  active  campaign  wher 
ever  it  might  be  undertaken. 


2l8  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

It  was  almost  pathetic  to  view  our  little  camp ;  the  low 
shelter  tents,  regularly  pitched  in  company  streets  to  be 
sure,  but  mildewed  and  smoke-stained,  and  our  two  or 
three  old  wall  tents  for  headquarters  and  the  officers, 
without  camp  guards  or  any  of  the  glitter  of  martial  life 
visible,  and  compare  it  with  the  quarters  of  the  new  troops, 
where  ample  tent  cloth  sheltered  officers  and  men  in 
bright  uniforms,  bands  played,  guards  paced  to  and  fro, 
and  such  strict  attention  was  given  to  form  and  ceremony 
we  hardly  dared  to  go  near  them ;  our  recent  life  in  the 
backwoods  made  us  shy  of  such  grandeur.  The  officers 
with  the  regiment  were :  Colonel  Carruth,  Captains  Lyon, 
Blanchard,  Hudson  and  Ingell,  Assistant  Surgeon  Roche 
and  Lieutenants  Tobey  and  Meserve.  The,  last  two  were 
now  commissioned  captains,  and  First  Sergeants  Farring- 
ton  and  Wright,  Sergeant-Major  White,  Quartermaster- 
Sergeant  Cutter,  First  Sergeants  Cobb  and  Mason  were 
promoted  to  first  lieutenants,  most  of  them  having  com 
manded  companies  or  acted  as  officers  for  some  time.  Of 
these,  Cutter  was  appointed  quartermaster,  and  Cobb 
acting  adjutant.  Surgeon  Snow  came  to  the  regiment 
soon  after  its  arrival,  and  Lieutenant  Hatch  joined  from 
detached  service  in  the  West.  Major  Wales  returned  on 
the  twenty-first,  and  Captains  Stickney  and  Pope  visited 
us,  the  former  having  resigned.  Sergeant  Nason  acted  for 
a  time  as  sergeant-major,  but  the  position  was  afterwards 
given  to  Sergeant  Hagan.  There  were  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  enlisted  men  present,  numbers  having  increased 
by  the  return  of  the  men  detailed  in  Kentucky.  In  gen 
eral,  furloughs  were  denied,  which  caused  some  grumbling, 
considering  the  long  time  we  had  been  away  from  our 
families,  but  betokened  a  short  stop  at  Annapolis. 

The  clerical  work  of  the  regiment  and  companies  was 
pressed  busily,  and  drills  and  dress-parades  were  resumed. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  2  19 

Seventy-five  new  Springfield  rifled  muskets  arrived  to  re 
place  worn-out  arms.  Friends  came  to  see  us ;  Hon. 
Charles  Hudson  —  father  of  the  Captain  of  Company  H  — 
and  our  old  friends,  Mayor  Fay  and  Miss  Gilson,  called. 
A  supply  of  "  A"  tents  was  received  and  pitched  on  the 
twelfth,  and  struck  again  on  the  twenty-first  —  more  than 
nine  days  of  such  luxury  would  be  enervating.  Generals 
Grant  and  Burnside  reviewed  the  troops  drawn  up  in  line 
in  front  of  their  camps,  and  hearty  cheers  were  given  as 
they  passed  the  regiment. 

Our  old  brigade,  "Reno's  Own,"  was  broken  up  —  a 
better  brigade  never  faced  the  foe  —  and  parting  with  the 
old  regiments  was  like  sundering  family  ties.  The  Thirty- 
Fifth  was  assigned  to  the  First  Brigade  of  the  First  Di 
vision,  with  other  Massachusetts  regiments,  the  Fifty- 
Sixth,  Fifty-Seventh  and  Fifty-Ninth,  called  "Veterans," 
because  to  a  considerable  extent  composed  of  men  who 
had  seen  a  previous  term  of  service ;  and,  in  addition,  the 
Fourth,  Eighth  and  Tenth  United  States  Infantry  regi 
ments,  of  whom  the  Eighth  never  joined.  General  Thomas 
G.  Stevenson,  formerly  colonel  of  the  Twenty-Fourth  Mas 
sachusetts,  was  to  command  the  division.  Colonel  Carruth, 
senior  colonel,  commanded  the  brigade,  with  Surgeon 
Snow  and  Captain  Tobey  upon  his  staff.  A  conspicuous 
addition  to  the  corps  was  a  regiment  of  cavalry  with 
hussar  jackets  overloaded  with  yellow  braid,  which  quickly 
earned  them  the  nickname  of  "the  Butterflies." 

Great  movements  were  impending,  that  was  plain  to 
every  one.  How  did  we  then  look  forward  to  the  coming 
campaign  ?  Rather  wearily,  it  must  be  confessed  ;  to  again 
turn  our  backs  upon  home  and  the  blessings  of  civilization 
before  time  had  dulled  the  dreary  reminiscences  of  the 
past  winter  was  hard.  Physically,  however,  the  men  con 
stituting  the  remnant  of  the  regiment  were  prepared  for 


220  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

any  hardship.  Soldiering  was  no  longer  an  enthusiasm, 
nor  a  consciously  difficult  endurance,  it  had  become  ordi 
nary  every-day  life ;  the  men  went  about  every  duty  quietly, 
but  with  assured  confidence.  We  remarked  among  the 
new  troops  a  harsher  discipline  than  prevailed  in  the  army 
of  1862. 

On  the  twenty-third  of  April,  after  the  usual  scenes  of 
frolic  when  camp  was  broken,  the  Thirty  Fifth  took  the 
lead  upon  the  road  towards  Washington  and  lightly  covered 
the  dozen  miles  of  level  sandy  Maryland  before  camp  was 
reached.  At  evening,  the  boys  had  their  shelter  tents 
well  up  and  coffee  boiling  before  the  new  troops  had 
stacked  arms  and  marched  off  by  companies  for  water, 
with  an  amount  of  ceremony  which  quite  astounded  our 
men.  Our  officers,  also,  were  surprised  when  some  of 
their  friends  of  the  brigade  came  over  to  complain  of 
being  marched  so  fast —  we  had  forgotten  our  own  days 
of  breaking  in.  Next  day,  however,  we  in  turn  followed  in 
rear,  and  had  the  fun  of  it.  It  rained  and  the  roads  were 
heavy;  the  knapsacks  of  the  regiments  ahead  became  un 
bearable,  and  their  contents  were  thrown  out  along  the 
way  in  confusion.  Our  men  improved  the  opportunity  to 
exchange  old  for  new  without  cost.  Books,  stationery, 
toilet  articles  and  clothing  of  all  kinds  strewed  the  road 
side  ;  new  blankets  were  shed  in  such  quantities  that  a 
citizen  was  seen  collecting  them  in,  a  farm  wagon ;  we  had 
not  seen  such  a  wholesale  throwing  off  of  baggage  since 
the  Confederates  abandoned  their  luggage  at  South  Moun 
tain.  Just  before  going  into  camp  in  the  mud  and  rain 
we  forded,  knee  deep,  a  branch  of  the  Patuxent  River; 
General  Stevenson,  who  happened  to  witness  the  crossing, 
laughing  and  seeming  to  approve  the  way  in  which  the 
men  unhesitatingly  dashed  into  the  stream,  not  delaying 
the  column,  and  setting  the  rear  an  example. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  221 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  after  more  fording  of  branches,  we 
reached  the  outskirts  of  Washington  and  halted  some  time 
for  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts  battery  to  join.  It  cleared 
off  bright  and  sunny.  Major  Wales  riding  at  the  head  of 
the  regiment,  in  column  with  the  Ninth  Corps,  we  passed, 
company  front,  through  the  city  to  Fourteenth  Street,  and 
by  that  thoroughfare  to  the  Long  Bridge.  The  sidewalks, 
and  even  the  streets,  were  thronged  with  people,  great 
interest  being  manifested  to  see  the  troops  pass.  The  torn 
colors  of  the  old  regiments  were  continually  applauded. 
It  was  amusing  to  us  in  the  ranks  to  overhear  the  com 
ments.  At  Willard's,  President  Lincoln  and  General 
Burnside  reviewed  the  column,  and  here  the  cheering  and 
enthusiasm  were  vehement,  some  of  the  boys  even  threw 
up  their  caps.  Yet  there  was  a  deeper  feeling  under  it 
all,  as  we  passed  the  streets  full  of  well-fed  and  well- 
clothed  statesmen,  politicians,  clerks  and  civil  employes, 
yes,  morituri  salutamus  ! 

"  O  Ceesar,  we  who  are  about  to  die 
Salute  you  !   was  the  gladiator's  cry 
In  the  arena,  standing  face  to  face 
With  death,  and  with  the  Roman  populace." 

The  overshadowing  future  solemnized  the  triumphal  hour  ; 
we  oldsters  knew  what  was  to  come  after. 

Passing  the  familiar  scenes  about  the  Long  Bridge,  the 
brigade  turned  to  the  left  towards  Alexandria,  and  went 
into  camp  in  a  valley  near  some  whitewashed  barracks. 
The  Fifty-Sixth  Massachusetts  had  an  excellent  band,  and 
for  the  first  time  we  heard  them  play  the  soldiers'  chorus 
from  Faust,  which  afterwards  became  so  familiar,  com 
mencing  with  the  words : 

"  Glory  to  those  who  in  battle  fall 
Their  bright  deeds  we  can  with  pride  recall." 


222  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  expectation  of  a  naval  expedition  faded  away. 
Some  of  the  veteran  officers  inquired  if  we  did  not  feel  a 
sinking  of  the  heart  when  treading  again  the  soil  of  Vir 
ginia;  yes,  and  a  rising  of  the  heart,  too,  for  Grant  was  to 
lead  us.  Doubtless  there  would  have  been  more  shrink 
ing  if  we  had  known  that  our  indomitable  leader's  system 
of  campaign  was  to  be  attrition,  with  Lee's  intrenched 
army  as  the  grindstone  upon  which  we  were  to  be  ground. 
For  this  the  general  has  been  censured,  but  his  critics 
should  bear  in  mind  that  his  great  fear,  during  the  whole 
following  year,  was  that  Lee  would  escape  him  and  con 
centrate  upon  Sherman ;  writing  to  the  latter,  April  19, 
1864,  from  Culpeper,  Grant  says  :  "  My  directions  then 
would  be,  if  the  enemy  in  your  front  shows  signs  of  joining 
Lee,  follow  him  up  to  the  full  extent  of  your  ability.  I 
will  prevent  the  concentration  of  Lee  upon  your  front,  if 
it  is  in  the  power  of  this  army  to  do  it."  No  thought  of 
facing  Lee  for  a  day  or  two  was  in  his  brain  when  he 
penned  those  lines.  Our  view  of  the  field  was  too  narrow. 
The  grasp  upon  Lee's  army  was  to  be  constant  —  he  was  to 
be  fought  in  the  open  field,  if  he  would ;  if  not,  he  was  to 
be  hammered.  After  the  first  battle,  Lee  remained  within 
his  intrenchments,  and  pounding  and  grinding  were  our 
general's  only  alternatives.  But  the  position  of  the  hammer 
in  the  hands  of  Thor  cannot  be  enviable. 

We  left  Alexandria  on  the  twenty-seventh,  and  marched 
rapidly  to  near  Fairfax  Court  House ;  on  the  twenty- 
eighth,  through  Centreville  and  Manassas  to  Bristoe ; 
on  the  twenty-ninth,  through  Catlett's  to  Warrenton  Junc 
tion  ;  and  on  the  thirtieth,  to  Bealton  Station.  The  whole 
country  was  one  great  unfenced  plain,  with  occasional 
woods  ne'ar  streams  —  the  tramping  ground  of  armies  for 
the  past  three  years.  The  Thirty-Fifth  and  Ninth  New 
Hampshire,  as  guards,  accompanied  an  endless  train  of 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  223 

wagons.  Near  Centreville,  the  colonel  rode  back  and 
pointed  out  the  localities  of  note  about  the  town,  Black 
burn's  Ford  and  Bull  Run,  his  mind  occupied  with  mem 
ories  of  the  old  First  Massachusetts  Regiment  and  1861. 
At  Warrenton  Junction  we  recalled  Major  Willard  and  the 
extra  hard  bread  on  the  march  across  to  Fredericksburg. 
At  Bealton,  tents  were  pitched  in  the  open  plain  west  of 
the  railroad,  camp  duties  resumed,  and  all  were  busy  upon 
the  pay-rolls.  It  was  said  that  the  Ninth  Corps  was  to  be 
located  for  some  time  along  the  railroad  to  protect  it 
from  raiders.  May  ist,  Lieutenant  Creasey  arrived  and 
took  position  on  the  brigade  staff,  as  acting  assistant 
adjutant-general.  The  Tenth  Regiment,  United  States 
Infantry,  with  a  good  band,  was  encamped  near  us, 
and,  with  the  Fourth  United  States  Infantry,  was  now 
attached  to  our  brigade,  making  it,  we  hoped,  a  crack 
corps  ;  but  we  were  too  soon  in  action  to  gain  proper 
coherence  as  a  brigade,  or  even  to  make  their  acquain 
tance.  The  cars  upon  the  railroad  were  rushing  the 
surplus  baggage  and  supplies  towards  Washington, 
one  train  wrecking  seven  cars  in  front  of  our  camps, 
and  injuring  six  soldiers  of  their  freight,  besides  scat 
tering  sugar  and  commissary  stores  broadcast  for  the 
benefit  of  our  boys.  This  was  early  in  the  morning  of 
May  4th,  at  the  time  the  men  were  turning  out  to  strike 
tents  and  prepare  for  the  inarch.  After  assisting  to  remove 
the  wreck,  the  regiment  took  the  line  of  march  towards 
the  Rappahannock,  much  to  the  disappointment  of  those 
who  looked  for  a  resting  spell  guarding  the  railway.  We 
crossed  the  river  on  the  pontoons  near  Rappahannock 
Station,  where  the  earthworks  so  gallantly  captured  by 
General  Russell  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  in  November  pre 
ceding,  were  still  undisturbed.  Following  the  railroad  to 
Brandy  Station,  situated  in  a  wide,  treeless  waste,  we  halted 


224 


HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 


about  noon  for  several  hours,  to  allow  the  teams  to  come 
up.  The  railroad  was  then  left  and  a  course  taken  south 
easterly  across  Mountain  Run  towards  the  Rapidan, 
marching  until  late  at  night,  and  finally  lying  uncomfort 
ably  by  the  road  in  constant  expectation  of  movement. 

The  strength  of  the  brigade,  by  the  morning  report  of 
May  3d,  was  : 


REGIMENTS. 

PRESENT. 

ABSENT. 

Totals 

Officers. 

Men. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Fourth  United  States  Infantry     .     .     . 
Tenth  United  States  Infantry      .     .     . 
Thirty-Fifth  Massachusetts  Infantry     . 
Fifty-Sixth  Massachusetts  Infantry 
Fifty-Seventh  Massachusetts  Infantry. 
Fifty-Ninth  Massachusetts  Infantry     . 

6 
4 
13 
3° 
30 
29 

287 
233 
285 
689 
763 
79° 

24 

25 
14 
7 
5 
7 

5° 
65 
172 

87 
129 

121 

367 
327 
484 
813 
927 
947 

Aggregate    

112 

3,°47 

82 

624 

3,86s 

The  march  with  the  wagons  was  resumed  on  the  fifth, 
and  it  was  announced  that  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  separated 
for  the  present  from  the  brigade  and  detailed  to  guard 
the  division  supply  train.  The  weather  was  clear  and 
warm.  General  Burnside  and  staff  passed  to  the  front 
early  in  the  morning.  In  the  afternoon,  as  we  approached 
the  Rapidan,  the  continuous  roar  of  battle  could  be  heard 
rising  from  the  forests  on  the  south  bank;  the  sound  was 
impressive,  not  only  in  itself,  but  from  the  momentous 
consequences  which  were  at  stake.  At  Ely's  Ford  the 
water  was  about  three  feet  deep,  the  bottom  stony  and 
current  strong;  the  men  waded  across  with  difficulty,  and 
went  into  camp  on  the  south  bank.  Company  D,  under 
Lieutenant  Hatch — Captain  Lyon  having  resigned  — 
being  detailed  to  guard  the  ammunition  train,  had  to  re- 
cross,  and  became  separated  from  the  regiment  until  the 
twenty-fifth  of  June. 

The   sounds  of  battle  were   renewed  at  daybreak,  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  225 

lasted  through  this  day,  sixth,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
two  or  three  days,  were  continued  in  some  direction  within 
our  hearing  for  three  months  and  a  half  afterwards,  until 
habit  made  the  sound  so  customary  that  the  dead  silence 
of  its  cessation  seemed  irregular.  We  proceeded  towards 
the  field  of  battle,  coming  out  upon  the  bare  hills  near 
the  Old  Wilderness  Tavern,  where  the  train  went  into  park 
in  the  large  green  pasture,  with  the  twelve  hundred  wagons 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Major  Wales  had  a  tent 
pitched,  for  shade,  upon  the  hill,  and  we  waited  the  result 
of  the  conflict.  Right,  left  and  front  were  apparently  un 
broken  forests,  purple  with  the  opening  foliage.  Through 
these,  from  left  to  right,  was  visible  a  line  of  whitish-gray 
smoke  rising  through  the  tree  tops,  marking  the  lines 
of  battle,  from  which  the  rattling  sound  of  musketry  pro 
ceeded.  No  artillery  was  to  be  seen  excepting  the  one 
gun,  without  gunners,  unlimbered,  and  left  upon  the  brow 
of  our  hill.  All  clay  the  volume  of  sound  and  clouds  of 
smoke  sank  and  swelled,  but  scarcely  a  man  could  we  see ; 
only  now  and  then  a  wounded  soldier  came  to  our  tent, 
thinking  it  a  hospital,  and  received  the  attentions  of  Sur 
geon  Roche. 

Our  brigade  was  in  front  of  us,  in  the  left  centre  of  the 

O 

army,  between  the  Second  and  Fifth  Corps.  The  Fifth 
Corps  formed  the  centre  of  the  army,  the  Second  Corps 
the  left  wing;  between  the  two  corps  was  a  gap,  near  the 
intersection  of  the  Brock  Road  and  Plank  Road.  Steven 
son's  division  reported  at  that  point  about  eight  in  the 
morning.  The  Second  Brigade  was  sent  to  the  left  of  the 
Second  Corps,  where  it  did  famous  service.  Our  brigade 
was  turned  off  by  Colonel  Carruth  to  the  front  into  the 
unoccupied  ground,  and  formed  in  four  lines,  the  right 
resting  on  some  troops  said  to  be  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  but 
still  leaving  a  small  gap  on  the  left,  at  the  road,  beyond 


226  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

which  was  the  First  Massachusetts,  of  the  Second  Corps. 
In  this  gap,  in  extension  of  our  first  line,  we  should  have 
been  placed  had  we  been  present.  In  the  first  line  were 
the  Fourth  and  Tenth  United  States  Infantry,  then  the 
Fifty-Sixth,  Fifty-ninth  next,  and  Fifty-Seventh  in  rear. 
They  had  hardly  got  into  position  and  lain  down  when  a 
tremendous  musketry  fire  was  opened  upon  them,  which 
lasted,  with  greater  or  less  fury,  until  late  in  the  afternoon. 
Twice  the  enemy  tried  to  break  the  lines  by  assault,  but 
failed ;  late  in  the  day  they  tried  again,  in  great  force, 
rushing  on  with  yells,  but  the  brigade  held  on  with  the 
steadiness  of  veterans,  poured  in  volleys  with  telling  effect, 
and  drove  them  back  into  the  obscurity  of  the  woods,  end 
ing  the  battle  for  the  day  on  the  left  centre.  The  slaughter 
was  terrible :  Colonel  Griswold,  of  the  Fifty-Sixth,  was 
killed;  Colonel  Bartlett,  of  the  Fifty- Seventh,  was  wounded. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Collins,  of  the  Eleventh  New  Hamp 
shire,  for  some  months  our  brigade  commander  in  Ten 
nessee,  fell  in  another  part  of  the  field,  and  Colonel 
Harriman  was  captured  by  the  enemy.  General  Long- 
street  was  among  the  wounded  of  the  enemy. 

Towards  evening  we  observed  a  decided  increase  of 
firing  on  the  extreme  right  of  the  army,  and,  after  dark, 
the  news  came  that  the  line  of  the  Sixth  Corps  had  been 
broken.  The  question  was  asked  whether  a  repetition  of 
Chancellorsville  was  impending;  and  the  immense  trains 
—  whose  position  was  exposed  if  the  break  should  be  a 
bad  one  —  were  set  in  motion,  and  continued  through  the 
night,  taking  the  road  to  the  left  of  the  army ;  but  disaster 
was  averted  by  the  exertions  of  General  Sedgwick,  com 
manding  the  Sixth  Corps.  The  regiment  lay  in  bivouac  be 
hind  the  stacks  of  arms,  at  one  time  being  roused  out  to 
corduroy,  with  boards  and  rails,  a  part  of  the  road  which 
a  small  brook  made  difficult  of  passage  for  the  wagons. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  22 7 

On  the  seventh,  the  army  commenced  the  move  to  the 
left,  towards  Spottsylvania.  The  wagon  trains  kept  as 
near  the  rear  of  the  centre  as  possible,  moving  a  few  miles 
only  over  dusty  roads.  Our  old  friends,  the  Eleventh 
New  Hampshire,  passed  us  with  a  cheerful  morning  greet 
ing.  At  night  the  men  got  no  sleep,  the  wagons  being  in 
the  road  and  expecting  to  move  at  any  moment.  The 
same  slow  march  to  the  left  was  continued  next  day,  halt 
ing  about  noon  for  coffee.  A  train  of  ambulances  and 
army  wagons  passed  with  the  wounded  from  the  front,  who 
were  furnished  with  water  by  our  men.  Also  some  hundreds 
of  captured  Confederates  marched  by  under  guard.  The 
locality  we  had  reached  was  the  ground  over  which  Stone 
wall  Jackson  advanced  to  turn  Hooker's  right  at  Chan- 
cellorsville,  a  year  before.  The  leaves  of  last  autumn  had 
covered  most  of  the  relics  of  that  unfortunate  affair,  but 
groping  among  the  rubbish  by  the  road-side,  a  human  skull 
was  uncovered  ;  a  fit  text  for  one  disposed  to  moralize  in 
the  midst  of  the  great  events  transpiring.  At  dark  we 
kept  on,  the  train  went  into  park  near  the  old  Chancel- 
lorsville  House,  and  we  got  the  first  sound  sleep  for 
several  nights.  We  passed  the  junction  of  the  roads  at 
Chancellorsville  next  morning,  ninth,  the  whole  area  about 
the  mansion  crowded  with  wagons  and  artillery  and 
columns  of  troops  passing  towards  Spottsylvania.  For 
several  succeeding  days  the  trains  remained  in  park  along 
the  road  towards  Fredericksburg,  the  men  patiently  await 
ing  events  and  listening  to  the  sounds  of  battle  in  front. 
Part  of  the  Fifty-Eighth  Massachusetts  passed  to  join  the 
Second  Division. 

This  trifling  at  the  rear  had  its  irksome  side.  There 
was  a  feeling  among  the  officers  and  men  that  we  were 
playing  truant ;  the  constant  music  of  battle  kept  calling 
—  calling —  and  yet  we  dawdled  beside  the  wagons,  a 


228  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

necessary  duty,  but  seeming  unsoldierly  at  the  beginning 
of  the  campaign ;  we  did  not  appreciate,  at  that  timer 
General  Grant's  anxiety  about  the  trains.  At  the  front 
one  sees  what  is  going  on,  knows  his  place  and  feels  as  if 
he  were  doing  his  whole  duty ;  with  the  rear,  he  hears 
the  concentrated  din  of  the  fighting  of  the  whole  army, 
knows  nothing  but  what  the  exaggerated  tales  of  stragglers 
bring  him,  sees  all  the  wounded  congregated  in  the  horrors 
of  the  field  hospital  —  so  that  our  losses  appear  like  an  army 
of  themselves  —  and,  if  at  all  susceptible,  he  quickly  gets 
the  blues.  Much  of  such  duty  must  be  demoralizing ;  but 
it  is  well  enough  to  lie  in  reserve  occasionally,  and  some 
times  to  visit  the  hospitals,  to  see  what  the  thing  is  like. 
Captain  Blanchard  expressed  his  views  to  the  effect  that 
it  was  a  duty  unworthy  of  our  regiment.  The  reply  to  him 
was,  not  to  worry  his  heroic  soul,  the  duty  would  not  be 
likely  to  last  long ! 

On  the  tenth,  there  was  sanguinary  fighting,  and  our 
division  commander,  General  Thomas  G.  Stevenson,  was 
killed  by  a  sharpshooter.  He  was  succeeded  by  General 
Thomas  L.  Crittenden,  a  son  of  Hon.  John  J.  Crittendenr 
and  previously  a  commander  of  the  left  wing  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland,  under  General  Rosecrans.  Major 
Wales,  having  sent  in  his  resignation  at  Alexandria,  re 
ceived  his  discharge,  and  returned  to  Massachusetts  with 
the  body  of  General  Stevenson,  his  former  colonel  in  the 
Twenty-Fourth  Massachusetts.  Captain  Lyon  also  de 
parted  at  the  same  time,  leaving  Captain  Blanchard  senior 
officer  and  in  command  until  the  fifteenth. 

Next  day,  we  had  rain  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  regi 
ment  moved  a  little  way  into  the  woods  and  tents  were 
pitched.  At  daylight  of  the  twelfth  heavy  firing  was  heard 
at  the  front,  which  continued  with  great  rapidity  until 
three  in  the  afternoon,  then  ceased,  except  a  solitary  can- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  229 

non  heard  at  intervals.  This  was  the  noise  of  battle 
attendant  upon  General  Hancock's  successful  assault  with 
the  'Second  Corps  upon  the  Confederate  salient,  in  which 
he  captured  Major-General  Edward  Johnson,  Brigadier- 
General  Geo.  H.  Stewart,  and  some  three  thousand  pris 
oners  and  twenty  cannon.  After  the  prisoners  were  taken 
to  the  rear,  it  is  related  that  Hancock  seeing  Stewart,  a 
former  friend,  extended  his  hand,  saying  "  How  are  you, 
Stewart  ? "  The  latter  haughtily  replied,  "  I  am  General 
Stewart  of  the  Confederate  Army,  and,  under  the  circum 
stances,  I  decline  to  take  your  hand."  "  And  under  any 
other  circumstances,  General,  I  should  not  have  offered 
it,"  was  Hancock's  response.  No  anecdote  could  better 
illustrate  the  disposition  in  which  the  two  armies  fought ; 
the  officers  of  the  Confederate  army  bitterly  vindictive  and 
making  the  war  a  personal  affair,  the  Union  army  lenient 
and  without  ill-will.  Indeed  this  dissimilarity  helps  to 
account  for  much  of  the  difference  in  fighting  spirit,  which 
some  writers  state  was  possessed  in  greater  degree  by  the 
Confederate  soldier.  Shakespeare  wrote  long  ago  : 

"  To  be  tender-minded  does  not  become  a  sword ;  " 

but  it  was  part  of  the  task  of  the  Union  army  to  overcome 
hostile  hearts  as  well  as  hostile  hands. 

We  halted  in  the  drizzle  near  Salem  Church,  the  scene 
of  General  Sedgwick's  battle  of  May  4th,  1863,  and  saw 
these  prisoners  pass  under  guard ;  their  officers  appeared 
in  no  wise  discouraged,  but  the  men,  as  is  usual  with 
prisoners,  rather  a  bedraggled  looking  set.  The  regiment 
spent  the  afternoon  upon  a  by-road,  repairing  a  bridge  for 
the  wagons  to  pass.  There  was  a  pleasant  house  near  by, 
with  greenhouses  and  exotic  plants,  among  which  the  men 
wandered  during  the  halt.  At  night  we  reached  the  turn 
pike  and  slept  under  some  pine  trees  dripping  with  mois- 


230  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

ture.  On  the  thirteenth,  the  trains  and  guards  moved 
rapidly  over  the  pike  to  within  three  miles  of  Fredericks- 
burg,  where,  in  an  open  field,  the  wagons  went  into  park ; 
tents  were  pitched  over  the  fourteenth  and  rations  issued, 
A  military  band  wandered  disconsolately  about,  like  wet 
fowls,  in  the  rain  and  mud,  their  instruments  bruised  and 
clothing  much  the  worse  for  the  ten  days  south  of  the 
Rapidan. 

We  were  surprised  and  cheered,  on  the  fifteenth,  by  the 
arrival  of  two  officers,  Captain  Park  and  Adjutant  Wash- 
burn,  from  detached  service  at  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
Captain  Park  took  command  of  the  regiment.  Next  day 
the  train  moved  towards  the  city  and  joined  the  immense 
park  of  wagons  near  the  old  battle -field  ;  the  regiment 
turned  to  the  south  and  went  into  camp  upon  a  wooded 
hill-side  overlooking  Hazel  Run.  The  men  improved  the 
opportunity  to  visit  the  scene  of  the  battle  of  December 
i3th,  1862,  so  memorable  to  us,  searching  for  old  land 
marks.  The  ridge  and  sunken  road  with  the  stone  wall 
were  so  well  defined  as  to  be  easily  recognized,  but  the 
plain  below,  where  we  had  advanced,  was  now  so  changed 
in  appearance  by  the  destruction  of  houses,  fences,  etc., 
as  to  render  locating  any  point  quite  difficult ;  the  small 
house  with  the  battered  chimney  was,  however,  recognized. 
In  the  course  of  the  day  orders  came  from  the  front  for 
the  regiment  to  join  the  brigade.  Captain  Blanchard  drew 
a  breath  of  relief ;  his  wish,  "  to  take  a  thousand  before 
breakfast,"  might  now  be  gratified. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  May  lyth,  the  regiment  was  on 
the  way  south-westerly  by  the  telegraph  road  towards 
Spottsylvania.  After  some  ten  miles  of  easy  marching, 
we  struck  into  a  military  road  cut  through  the  pine  woods 
and  came  out  upon  a  rise  of  land  overlooking  the  valley 
of  the  Ny  River.  The  lines  of  our  army  could  be  seen 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  231 

extending  far  to  the  left,  posted  close  up  to  the  pine  woods, 
which  separated  them  from  the  Confederate  intrenchments 
about  Spottsylvania  Court  House.  Turning  off  to  the 
right  we  met  some  of  the  Thirteenth  Massachusetts  Regi 
ment,  as  before  at  South  Mountain  and .  Fredericksburgr 
and  crossing  the  little  Ny  River  upon  a  temporary  bridge 
found  our  brigade. 

Our  division  was  behind  hastily  constructed  low  in 
trenchments  upon  the  hither  slope  of  a  little  elevation, 
beyond  a  small  brook,  an  affluent  of  the  Ny,  in  which 
some  of  the  men  were  bathing  as  we  approached.  In  front 
of  our  lines  was  an  open  space  for  a  few  rods,  then  pine 
woods  with  thick  undergrowth ;  upon  our  right  were  pine 
woods,  which  concealed  our  troops  in  that  direction  ;  but 
in  front  of  this  forest,  between  it  and  the  enemy,  was  an 
open  field,  in  which,  at  some  distance  from  us,  could  be 
seen  the  bodies  of  several  soldiers,  who  had  fallen  in  the 
attack  of  the  twelfth,  still  unburied.  The  scene  of  Gen 
eral  Hancock's  surprise  and  capture  of  the  Confederates, 
mentioned  above,  was  beyond  these  woods  and  fields. 
We  were  shocked  at  the  appearance  of  the  men  of  the 
brigade,  so  thoroughly  had  the  struggles  of  the  past  few 
days  worn  off  their  polish  and  newness ;  their  numbers 
also  were  wofully  diminished ;  they  looked,  it  was  re 
marked,  as  if  they  had  just  arrived  from  Blain's  Cross 
Roads  by  way  of  Big  Creek  Gap.  A  little  picket  firing  was 
going  on  in  the  forest  in  front ;  one  bullet  intended  for  Lieu 
tenant  Farrington,  passing  through  his  shelter  tent  close 
by  his  head.  We  learned  that  General  J.  H.  Ledlie,  an 
officer  entirely  unknown  to  us,  was  in  command  of  the 
brigade,  our  colonel  having  gone  to  hospital.  Lieu 
tenant  Creasey  was  upon  his  staff.  At  evening,  orders 
were  received  to  be  ready  to  assault  the  enemy's  works  in 
front  at  an  early  hour  next  morning.  There  was  a  little 


232  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

moon  throwing  its  soft  light  over  the  martial  scene;  the 
men  conversed  quietly,  in  the  subdued  way  so  marked 
when  under  orders  to  attack,  then  slept,  rolled  in  their  gray 
blankets,  and  quiet  reigned  over  the  bivouac. 

Awakened  without  noise,  at  half  after  three  in  the  morn 
ing,  a  double  line  was  formed  in  front  of  our  works ;  the 
front  line  was  to  advance  and  feel  the  enemy,  we  were  to 
support  it.  About  five  in  the  morning,  the  signal  sounds 
of  attack  were  heard  from  our  right,  and  our  lines  advanced 
in  good  style  into  the  woods.  The  enemy  were  awake, 
and,  conscious  of  our  approach,  opened  upon  us  with 
spherical  case-shot ;  the  bursting  missiles  tearing  through 
the  shrubbery  and  laying  low  several  of  our  men.  The 
first  line  reached  the  opening  before  the  Confederate 
works,  halted  upon  a  ridge  and  commenced  firing;  the 
Thirty-Fifth  moving  up,  came  close  upon  the  rear  of  the 
troops  in  front.  Hardly  had  we  attained  this  position, 
when  the  Confederates  fired  a  volley,  and  some  person  — 
whether  authorized  or  not  —  in  the  front  line  shouted 
loudly  "  Retreat ! "  Very  likely  it  was  done  by  some 
bounty  jumper,  who,  trusting  to  be  undiscovered  in  the 
confusion  of  an  engagement,  took  this  method  of  getting 
out  of  an  unpleasant  situation.  This  danger  of  false 
orders  is  one  to  which  all  troops,  in  which  unwilling  men 
are  serving,  are  constantly  exposed,  and  it  was  our  first 
experience  with  that  class.  At  all  events,  whoever 
started  it,  the  word  was  repeated,  and  the  troops  went 
back  in  a  decidedly  hasty  manner,  the  first  line  running 
over  our  men,  who — thinking  it  was  an  overwhelming 
counter  attack  and  that  the  order  to  fall  back  was  by 
authority  —  went  to  the  rear  with  equal  celerity. 

On  getting  to  the  open  space  in  front  of  our  intrench- 
ments,  no  pursuers  being  seen,  the  men  stopped  and 
immediately  formed  into  line  again,  those  who  had  reached 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  233 

the  works  coming  out  without  hesitation.     At  this  time  a 
natty-looking    officer,   apparently  a   lieutenant,    appeared 
and  began  to  address  the  men  in  a  rather  excited  manner, 
"  Fall  in,  Thirty-Fifth  !     Steady,  Thirty-Fifth  ! "  etc.,  while 
our  men  looked  at  him  calmly  and  wondering  who  he  was. 
One  of  our  officers  spoke  to  him,  saying :     "  Don't  trouble 
yourself ;  you  attend  to  your  business  and  we  '11  attend  to 
ours  !"  to  which,  if  he  heard  it  —  which,  fortunately  for  all 
concerned,  he  probably  did  not  —  he  made  no  reply;  our 
officer  was  abashed  to  learn  afterwards  that  the  animated 
gentleman    was    our    new   general,    Ledlie.      The    Fifty- 
Seventh    Massachusetts,    under   the    gallant    Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Chandler,  now  went  forward  in  admirably  kept 
ranks,  but,  singularly  enough,  by  flank,  to  the  front,  and 
the  Thirty-Fifth  again  advanced  in  line  of  battle  on  their 
right.      The   Fourth   and  Tenth    United   States   Infantry 
were  on  the  right  of  the  Thirty-Fifth.     We  passed  through 
the  woods,  reached  the  opening  nearest  the  enemy,  and, 
at  about  one  hundred  yards  from  their  intrenchments,  the 
whole   line   lay  down,  without  firing  a  shot,   and  in  this 
position  calmly  sustained  the  fire   of  the   enemy  two  or 
three  hours,  with  little  loss  to  us,  as  the  shells  and  bullets 
of  the   Confederates  passed  over  our  heads.     The  order 
was  simply  "  to  feel  the  enemy,"  and  as  it  was  plain  they 
were  ready  to  receive  us,  no  final  assault  was  ordered.    The 
good  conduct  of  Sergeant  Alfred  W.  Tirrell  (afterwards 
lieutenant),  while    scouting  on  our   left,  was  commended 
by  Captain  Hudson. 

While  lying  thus,  a  man  in  the  uniform  of  a  staff  officer 
came  along  the  line  with  a  solid  shot  in  hand  inquiring  for 
a  certain  battery;  turning  to  the  front  he  disappeared 
through  the  line,  which  let  him  pass,  not  suspecting  his 
intention,  until  he  pulled  out  a  white  handkerchief  and 
sprang  lightly  into  the  Confederate  intrenchment,  much  to 


234  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

the  chagrin  of  those  who  witnessed  the  performance. 
That  fellow  has  always  been  known  in  the  regiment  as  the 
"  mysterious  stranger,"  and  guesses  of  all  sorts  have  been 
made  about  him :  spy,  deserter,  or  Confederate  officer 
accidentally  caught  in  our  lines,  ghost  or  real  flesh  and 
blood,  he  was  of  a  most  intrepid  spirit.  This  was  the 
second  instance  of  mistake  in  persons  that  morning,  owing 
to  lack  of  mutual  acquaintance  in  our  brand-new  brigade. 
The  line  received  orders  to  return  to  our  intrenchments, 
and  the  regiment  retired  by  right  of  divisions  to  the  rear, 
as  if  on  drill.  One  hundred  men  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  were 
detailed  under  command  of  Captain  Meserve  to  occupy 
the  picket  line  during  the  rest  of  the  day  and  the  follow 
ing  night. 

Our  loss  was  :  two  officers  wounded,  Adjutant  Wash- 
burn  and  Lieutenant  Wright,  and  twenty  enlisted  men 
killed  and  wounded.  The  killed  or  mortally  wounded 
were  :  Corporal  Alfred  E.  Waldo,  of  Company  E,  Corporal 
John  F.  Cole  and  George  Clark,  of  Company  F,  Sergeant 
L.  T.  Holmes,  of  Company  H,  and  Sergeant  Wm.  R, 
Wright,  of  Company  K.  The  fallen  men  were,  of  course, 
well  known  ;  no  man  dropped  out  of  our  ranks  in  this 
campaign  but  it  was  like  the  loss  of  a  brother  to  all  the 
rest.  Of  Sergeant  Wright,  a  comrade  preserved  these 
lines  in  a  diary  :  "  He  bore  his  sufferings  like  a  true  hero, 
being  torn  by  canister  in  the  left  arm  and  right  leg  near 
the  hip,  and  did  not  fear  to  die,  only  feeling  sorry  for  his 
family,  which  he  spoke  kindly  of,  requesting  me  to  tell 
them  that  he  died  happy." 

The  day  passed  quietly,  and  was  spent  in  resting  or 
in  making  the  acquaintance  of  our  comrades  in  the  other 
regiments  of  the  brigade.  On  the  nineteenth,  before  day 
break,  the  whole  division  was  withdrawn  from  the  works, 
the  picket  line  covering  the  rear,  and  marched  to  the  left 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  235 

of  the  army,  past  General  Burnside's  headquarters  —  near 
which  we  stopped  to  make  coffee  —  and  came  out  upon  a 
more  open  and  level  tract  of  country  than  we  had  seen  for 
some  time.  The  movement  was  conducted  in  good  order, 
without  appearance  of  the  enemy,  who  were  heard  chopping 
trees  in  our  front  as  we  left. 

Reaching  the  extreme  left,  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  ordered 
forward  as  skirmishers  to  discover  the  enemy.  The  open 
country  offered  a  fine  opportunity  for  a  display  of  the 
skirmish  line,  and  the  manoeuvre  was  neatly  executed ;  the 
regiment  moving  up  in  line  and  deploying  to  the  right  and 
left,  then  advancing  as  if  on  drill,  General  Ledlie  and  the 
brigade  looking  on.  After  going  forward  about  half  a 
mile,  the  left  of  the  line  being  in  oak  woods,  a  position 
was  reached  near  a  pine  grove  from  which  the  Confederate 
lines  could  be  inspected ;  their  rifle-pits  extending  along 
the  further  bank  of  the  Po  River  or  a  branch  of  it.  Here 
the  regiment  remained  until  relieved  by  a  detail  for  picket, 
when  we  moved  to  the  right  and  formed  on  the  brigade 
line  at  Queesenberry's  ;  the  Fourth  United  States  Infantry 
coming  up  on  our  left.  The  usual  line  of  intrenchments 
covering  our  front  was  then  thrown  up,  and  the  men  slept 
the  sleep  of  the  very  weary,  soon  broken,  however,  by  an 
order  to  occupy  the  trenches,  as  an  attack  was  expected, 
but  which  did  not  occur. 

The  following  day  was  spent  in  quiet;  two  lines  of  earth 
works  were  built  in  our  rear,  and  batteries  placed  at  inter 
vals,  making  a  formidable  defence.  At  evening  the  bands 
played  to  cheer  up  the  men.  While  we  had  been  with  the 
trains  no  attack  was  made  upon  them,  but  on  the  nine 
teenth  we  could  hear  behind  us  the  music  of  battle  from 
General  Ewell's  attempt  —  in  imitation  of  Stonewall  Jack 
son  —  to  sweep  upon  our  rear,  which  was  repulsed  by  the 
heavy-artillery  regiments  and  some  of  our  cavalry. 


236  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  army  commenced,  on  the  twenty-first,  another  move 
to  the  left ;  the  Second  Corps  had  already  started.  It  was 
intended  that  the  Ninth  Corps  should  move  eastward, 
down  the  Po  River  to  Stannard's  Mill,  cross  there  and  ad 
vance  south  upon  the  west  side  of  the  river.  When  General 
Curtin,  with  his  brigade  of  the  Second  Division,  arrived  at 
the  Mill,  the  Confederates  appeared  in  such  force  that  this 
line  of  march  could  only  be  secured  by  a  battle,  which  was 
not  advisable ;  Curtin,  therefore,  held  the  position  while 
the  rest  of  the  corps  passed  in  his  rear  to  Guinea  Station, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Frederick sburg  and  Richmond 
Railroad. 

We  started  about  five  in  the  afternoon.  The  pickets 
under  Lieutenant  Farrington  were  left  out,  and  had  a  hot 
time  that  night  before  they  were  relieved.  The  Sixth 
Corps  occupied  the  works  abandoned  by  us,  and  we  had 
gone  but  a  short  distance  when  the  enemy,  for  whose 
attack  we  had  constantly  watched,  made  an  assault  upon 
that  corps  and  suffered  a  severe  repulse.  While  we 
marched,  the  thunders  of  this  battle  in  our  rear  filled  our 
ears  and  was  then  quite  inexplicable,  all  had  seemed  so 
quiet  at  our  starting.  All  the  night  we  kept  on,  with 
flankers  out  upon  the  right,  until  we  reached  the  Fred- 
ericksburg  turnpike,  then  northward  upon  this  well  worn 
road  until  we  met  the  cross  road  running  east  again  to 
Guinea's.  We  crossed  the  railroad  early  in  the  morning, 
overtook  at  the  station  the  rear  of  the  corps  which  had 
preceded  us,  and  came  to  a  halt  near  several  houses  for 
coffee.  Some  will  remember  that  as  we  passed  a  house 
upon  the  left  a  window  was  thrown  up,  a  head  appeared, 
and  a  volley  of  maledictions  was  hurled  at  us,  much  to  the 
amusement  of  the  passing  troops. 

From  Guinea  Station  we  turned  south  again,  falling  in 
left  in  front,  and  marched  near  the  railroad,  passing  Gen- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  237 

eral  Grant's  headquarters  —  where  General  Burnside  re 
viewed  the  corps  —  keeping  on  slowly  all  day,  crossing 
the  railroad  and  several  bridges,  and  halted  for  the  night 
in  a  ploughed  field  near  the  Mattapony  River,  where  Lieu 
tenant  Farrington  and  the  pickets  caught  up  with  the 
regiment. 

On  the  twenty-third  we  made  slow  progress  southward, 
over  hot  and  dusty  roads,  while  the  Second  Corps  was 
pushing  forward  to  effect  a  crossing  of  the  bridge  over  the 
North  Anna  River.  During  the  day  a  sergeant  of  some 
regiment  ahead  passed  us,  while  we  halted,  and  attracted 
attention  by  the  excessive  profanity  with  which  he  ad 
dressed  his  men,  who  were  tugging  large  quarters  of  fresh 
beef.  All  at  once  General  Burnside  and  staff  came  riding 
through  the  woods ;  the  general  overheard  the  sergeant's 
blasphemy,  stopped  short,  his  eyes  flashing  with  indigna- 
tion5  demanded  the  man's  name  and  regiment,  ordered 
him  reduced  to  the  ranks,  and  his  chevrons  and  stripes 
torn  off  on  the  spot;  an  act  of  summary  justice  which 
seemed  quite  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  perspiring  privates. 
At  twilight  heavy  musketry  was  heard  ahead,  and  the 
brigade  stacked  arms  in  a  ploughed  field  on  the  right  of 
the  road,  got  rations  and  slept,  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the 
North  Anna.  The  country  along  the  railroad  was  open 
and  inhabited,  but  as  we  approached  the  river  we  again 
struck  the  pitch-pine  forests,  with  roads  much  travelled 
and  deep  with  dust.  The  firing  heard  was  the  successful 
assault  of  the  Second  Corps  upon  the  bridge-head  at 
Chesterfield  Bridge. 

While  we  were  making  this  long  circuit,  General  Lee 
had  ample  time  to  prepare  his  defence  on  the  North  Anna. 
He  formed  his  army  in  a  V  shape,  the  point  resting  upon 
the  river.  The  Fifth  and  Sixth  Corps  crossed  above  at 
Jericho  Mills  and  enveloped  the  west  side  of  the  angle,  and 


238  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

tore  up  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad ;  the  Second  Corps 
and  part  of  the  Ninth  crossed  at  Chesterfield  Bridge  and 
attacked  the  east  side.  We  had  reached  the  river  at  Ox 
Ford,  where  the  point  of  the  V  rested,  and  the  plan  was 
for  us  to  cross,  crush  in  this  angle,  and  become  the  centre 
of  the  army  connecting  the  Second  and  Fifth  Corps. 

On  the  sunny  afternoon  of  the  twenty-fourth  of  May,  the 
brigade  started  across  the  fields  directly  for  a  ford  above 
Ox  Ford,  coming  out  upon  the  high  bank  of  the  river, 
which  here  runs  in  a  deep  cutting.  The  descent  to  the 
stream  was  so  abrupt  that  one  of  our  officers,  seeing  Major 
Putnam  of  the  Fifty-Sixth  going  down  on  horse-back,  re 
marked  to  him,  in  allusion  to  "  Old  Put "  of  Revolutionary 
fame,  that  "  it  was  not  quite  so  steep  as  Horse's  Neck, 
but  would  do  for  practice,"  at  which  he  laughed  ;  but  the 
major  was  not  so  lucky  as  his  ancestor,  for  he  received  a 
mortal  wound  upon  the  opposite  bank. 

The  North  Anna  was  not  very  wide,  but  deep  for  ford 
ing  and  full  of  rocks,  consequently  the  crossing  was  slow 
work.  It  was  a  picturesque  spot  and  an  interesting  scene, 
enlivened  by  a  few  rattling  shots  which  echoed  in  the  woods 
above,  but  without  other  signs  of  an  enemy  near.  General 
Crittenden's  intention  had  been  to  attack  with  the  Sec 
ond  Brigade,  but,  as  ours  arrived  first,  as  soon  as  we  were 
assembled  upon  the  south  bank,  he  commenced  operations. 
The  Thirty-Fifth  was  again  ordered  forward  as  skirmishers, 
to  beat  the  thick  woods  in  front.  The  men  wished  to 
leave  their  knapsacks,  but,  as  we  did  not  expect  to  return 
to  the  spot,  they  were  obliged  to  lug  them  along.  Form 
ing  in  line  of  battle  facing  the  south-east,  Captain  Hudson 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  left ;  Captain  Meserve,  of  the 
right;  while  Captain  Park,  with  Company  G  as  reserve, 
took  the  centre.  The  deployment  was  quickly  made,  the 
line  fronted,  then,  at  the  command,  "Forward,  —  guide 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  239 

centre — march!"  the  boys  dashed  ahead  in  the  spirited 
way  an  old  soldier  loves  to  see.  The  reserve  had  hard 
work  to  keep  up  with  the  line,  which,  passing  some  pickets 
on  the  right,  wearing  bucktails  in  their  caps  —  Pennsyl 
vania  Reserves  of  the  Fifth  Corps  —  crossed  several 
ravines,  and  advancing  some  half  a  mile,  driving  back  the 
Confederate  pickets,  came  out  into  an  open  field  in  full 
view  of  the  enemy's  intrenchments.  After  exchanging 
shots,  forward  again  went  the  line  over  the  open  field, 
driving  the  gray-coats  from  their  pits  and  for  the  moment 
clearing  the  field ;  but  they  returned  in  force,  too  heavy 
for  a  skirmish  line  to  withstand,  and  compelled  our  men 
to  fall  back  across  the  field  to  the  woods,  where  they  took 
position  partly  sheltered  and  held  on.  The  right  of  our 
line,  companies  A,  E  and  F,  though  less  close  than  the 
left  to  the  enemy's  works,  was  more  exposed  upon  the 
flank,  which  the  Confederates  took  advantage  of,  issued 
from  their  intrenchments  to  the  right,  and  coming  behind 
our  line  swept  off  four  or  five  men,  including  Sergeant 
Lunt,  and  compelled  the  right  to  retire  also  to  the  woods. 
Meanwhile,  the  rest  of  the  brigade  had  been  formed  in 
two  lines  of  battle,  and  came  forward  through  the  woods 
with  that  swaying  from  side  to  side  so  noticeable  in  a  close 
line  of  battle  advancing  over  rough  wooded  ground.  They 
bore  to  the  left,  coming  up  in  rear  of  our  line  in  the  edge 
of  the  woods  behind  companies  H  and  I,  and  commenced 
firing  by  volleys  upon  the  enemy,  who  now  opened  a  rapid 
fire  of  artillery,  and  the  action  was  hot  for  an  hour  or  two, 
without  material  change  on  either  side,  until  ammunition 
was  pretty  well  used  up.  The  right  of  the  line  of  battle 
was  well  covered  by  our  skirmishers,  but  on  the  left  —  the 
most  dangerous  position,  as  it  was  nearest  the  Confederate 
line  —  the  skirmishers,  owing  to  the  brigade  coming  up 
behind  our  left  companies,  extended  but  a  little  way. 


240  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

This  the  enemy  discovered  after  a  time,  and  coming  out 
of  their  works  upon  our  left,  charged  into  them  with  their 
well-known  yells,  which,  added  to  the  effect  of  a  smart 
shower  driving  in  the  faces  of  our  men,  broke  the  forma 
tion,  and  the  regiments  fell  back  towards  the  river  into  a 
line  of  works  which  the  troops  in  our  rear  had  constructed. 
The  left  of  our  skirmish  line  went  back  with  the  rest,  ex 
cept  several  unfortunates  who  were  surprised  and  captured; 
the  reserve  and  right  under  Captain  Park  remained  out 
until  Captain  Hudson  came  from  the  left  with  the  news, 
when  they  also  were  drawn  back  some  distance  and  finally 
into  the  works. 

It  had  been  a  lively  afternoon's  work,  and  the  advance 
of  the  line  as  skirmishers  was  never  better  done  by  the 
regiment ;  the  men,  although  obliged  finally  to  retire,  felt 
proud  of  the  performance  and  strengthened  confidence  in 
the  old  Thirty-Fifth,  and  with  justice,  for  General  Crit- 
tenden,  speaking  of  its  swift  advance,  said,  "He  had  never 
seen  the  like  before."  The  losses  of  the  regiments  in  the 
line  of  battle  were  heavy.  The  much-admired  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Chandler,  of  the  Fifty-Seventh,  fell,  mortally 
wounded,  and  had  to  be  abandoned  to  the  enemy.  The 
loss  of  our  regiment  was  small,  as  the  men  took  advantage 
of  all  shelter, —  six  wounded  and  eight  prisoners  picked  off 
the  flank,  viz. :  Sergeant  J.  W.  Lunt,  of  Company  A ; 
Robert  Steele,  F.  Sweeney  and  James  A.  Lord,  of  Com 
pany  C;  Israel  Roach  and  another,  of  Company  F;  Corporal 
B.  F.  Pratt,  of  Company  H  ;  and  Sergeant  Henry  W.  Tis- 
dale,  of  Company  I.  Also  Lieutenant  Creasey,  of  General 
Ledlie's  staff,  had  the  misfortune  to  be  swept  in  by  the 
Confederate  line,  and  was  forced  to  spend  the  remainder 
of  his  term  of  service  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

The  position  of  the  enemy  was  found  to  be  too  strong 
and  too  easily  reenforced  upon  either  flank  to  justify  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  241 

cost  of  crushing  it  in,  and  our  army  remained  astride  of 
the  river,  bridges  being  built  or  pontoons  laid  at  all  need 
ful  points. 

On  the  twenty-sixth,  unexpectedly  to  us,  the  regiment 
was  appointed  the  engineer  corps  for  the  First  Division, 
and  ordered  to  report  to  Major  Morton,  chief  engineer  of 
the  Ninth  Corps.  The  order  came  through  General 
Ledlie,  who  was  directed  to  detail  an  old  and  reliable 
regiment  for  the  duty,  and  honored  the  Thirty-Fifth  by  the 
selection.  The  detail  of  line  regiments  for  engineer  duty 
was  a  novelty  to  us,  and  was  introduced  by  Major  Morton, 
an  officer  whose  service  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was 
brief,  but  who  was  the  most  capable  and  zealous  soldier  our 
regiment  ever  had  intimate  relation  with.  He  was  born 
in  Philadelphia  in  1829,  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1851, 
and  was  appointed  to  the  engineers.  After  serving  as 
assistant  professor  of  engineering  at  the  Academy,  and 
taking  charge  of  various  works,  he  went  to  Central 
America  at  the  head  of  the  Chiriqui  expedition  in  1860. 
In  the  spring  of  1862  he  was  chief  engineer  of  the  Army 
of  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  following  October  received  the 
same  rank  in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  under  Rose- 
crans,  and,  soon  after,  he  was  made  a  brevet  brigadier- 
general.  He  built  the  intrenchments  at  Murfreesboro  and 

o 

was  engineer  of  the  works  at  Chattanooga.  At  the  time 
the  Thirty-Fifth  was  placed  under  his  orders  he  was  a 
total  stranger  to  us  by  name  and  reputation,  and  much  as 
we  looked  up  to  him,  we  never  fully  appreciated  his  worth 
until  we  lost  him. 

The  detail  duty  as  engineers  continued  until  about  the 
first  of  September  following,  and  had  its  advantages,  al 
though  the  work  was  hard  and  often  perilous.  The  com 
manding  officer  of  the  regiment  was  placed  in  a  difficult 
position  between  two  superiors,  his  brigadier  and  Major 


242  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Morton,  both  issuing  orders,  with  a  resulting  double  allow 
ance  of  duty.  Interference  with  his  engineers  was  resented 
by  Major  Morton,  and  whom  to  obey  was  sometimes  a 
vexatious  question.  This  trouble  could  have  been  avoided 
by  bringing  the  engineer  regiments  of  the  corps  under  a 
brigadier  of  their  own,  and  this  would  have  been  best  for 
instruction  and  division  of  work ;  but  a  withdrawal  from 
the  line  would  have  weakened  it  to  that  extent  against 
attack,  therefore  it  was  not  attempted.  The  result  was 
that  in  addition  to  their  severe  extra  labors,  the  men  of 
the  regiment  took  part  in  all  the  battles  of  the  First  Di 
vision —  with  one  exception  —  which  occurred  during  the 
detail,  although  regular  engineer  regiments  are  exempted 
from  line  duty  in  consideration  of  their  other  exertions. 

General  Grant,  having  decided  that  Lee's  position  on 
the  North  Anna  could  not  be  carried  without  a  loss  dis- 
proportioned  to  its  value,  determined  to  move  to  the 
Pamunkey  River.  The  base  of  supplies  was  transferred 
from  Fredericksburg  to  the  White  House,  and  the  army, 
undisturbed,  executed  another  bold  flank  march  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy.  Late  on  the  twenty-sixth,  the  regiment  was 
withdrawn  to  the  north  side  of  the  river  and  stacked  arms 
upon  the  bank,  watching  the  returning  troops ;  the  knap 
sacks  were  put  in  wagons  and  each  man  given  some  tool, 
pick,  shovel  or  axe  to  carry.  At  daylight  the  Confederate 
pickets  approached  the  south  bank  and  opened  a  scatter 
ing  but  harmless  fire,  to  which  no  reply  was  made.  We 
marched  south-easterly,  following  the  Fifth  Corps,  travelling 
almost  at  a  run  when  on  the  road,  but  stopping  frequently 
to  fill  up  mud  holes  and  places  difficult  for  the  artillery 
and  wagons.  At  night  we  built  a  temporary  bridge  over 
a  small  stream,  the  regiment  bein£  divided  into  three 
reliefs  and  working  all  night. 

On  the  twenty-eighth,  we  pushed  along  in  the  same  way, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  243 

passing  King  William's  Church,  the  weather  hot  and  roads 
dusty,  yet  accomplishing  twenty  miles,  and  reaching  the 
Parnunkey  at  Hanovertown  at  six  in  the  evening.  We 
crossed  on  the  canvas  pontoons  and  slept  on  the  south  bank. 

South  of  the  Pamunkey  the  country  continued  well 
covered  with  woods,  with  occasional  open  tracts  or  old  farm 
lots  ;  the  loose  soil  was  cut  into  deep  swampy  ravines  along 
the  numerous  winding  branches  of  Totopotomoy  Creek; 
a  difficult  country  for  offensive  operations.  The  roads  all 
converged  to  the  south-west,  crossing  the  Chickahominy 
River  to  Richmond,  now  not  more  than  a  dozen  miles  or 
so  distant.  The  Fifth  Corps  advanced  to  the  front  of 
Shady  Grove  and  skirmishing  commenced;  Near  Hawes's 
Shop  we  built  a  line  of  intrenchments  in  the  woods  on  the 
left  of  a  church ;  it  was  Sunday,  and  this  was  the  nearest 
we  got  to  a  religious  observance  of  the  day  in  this  cam 
paign.  The  line  was  hardly  finished  when  the  troops  had 
advanced  so  far  as  to  render  the  works  needless.  General 
Lee  with  his  army  held  the  north  bank  of  the  Chicka 
hominy,  covering  the  approaches  to  Richmond,  and  it  was 
anticipated  that  he  would  now  yield  ground  only  inch  by 
inch.  Our  corps  approached  his  lines  at  Shady  Grove, 
and  then  with  the  Fifth  Corps  shifted  along  his  front  to 
Bethesda  Church  and  Cold  Harbor;  while  the  Second 
and  Sixth  Corps  were  transferred  from  the  right  to  the  left 
of  the  army. 

The  work  for  the  whole  army  along  this  line  was  severe 
to  the  limit  of  human  endurance  ;  the  weather  hot,  with 
occasional  showers,  and  very  enervating.  To  most  who 
were  there  the  memory  of  those  days  is  probably  a  tangle 
of  confused  incidents,  which  the  following  extract  from 
Captain  —  then  first  sergeant  —  Nason's  diary  will  help  to 
unravel,  and  also  exhibit  the  variety  of  duty  performed  by 
the  regiment  as  engineers  : 


244  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

"  Monday,  May  3oth.  Marched  nine  A.  M.,  proceeding: 
very  cautiously,  and  having  made  only  one  and  a  half  miles 
at  noon,  halted  for  two  hours  and  made  coffee  ;  then  again 
moved  on  slowly  half  a  mile  and  stacked  arms  in  woods 
on  the  right  of  our  brigade.  Soon  after,  moved  by  left 
flank  to  the  front  about  a  mile,  and  took  position  in  an 
open  field  near  the  edge  of  woods  at  nine  P.  M.  and  threw 
up  breastworks  (near  Huntley's  Corner)  ;  picket  firing  con 
tinued  through  the  night,  at  times  quite  lively,  which  twice 
called  us  up,  expecting  an  attack,  but  our  pickets  held 
their  ground ;  slept  an  hour.  Drew  rations  at  midnight. 
Our  position  is  with  left  resting  on  the  Shady  Grove  Road. 

"Tuesday,  May  3 1 st.  Called  up  early.  Regiment  ordered 
to  cut  road  through  woods  for  artillery  to  pass,  which  was 
speedily  done;  meantime  our  position  in  the  breast 
works  was  filled  by  a  portion  of  the  Fourteenth  Massachu 
setts  Artillery.  After  completing  the  road,  returned  to 
our  position  in  the  works.  Advanced  with  our  brigade 
half  a  mile  at  noon,  by  left  flank,  and  formed  line  of  battle 
in  woods,  when  we  quickly  commenced  a  breastwork. 
Half  an  hour  later  the  order  came  to  retire  to  our  old 
position,  a  flank  movement  being  anticipated.  Several 
men  of  the  brigade  were  wounded  before  reaching  the 
works,  two  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  slightly.  The  Fourteenth 
Massachusetts  and  Second  Maine  batteries  took  position 
in  front  of  our  intrenchments  P.  M.,  and  earthworks  to  cover 
them  were  thrown  up  by  the  Thirty-Fifth ;  while  at  work 
the  rest  of  the  brigade  advanced,  when  biisk  firing  began, 
but  they  held  their  position.  Some  picket  firing  during 
the  night,  which  passed  quietly,  obtaining  considerable 
sleep. 

"Wednesday,  June  ist.  Left  intrenchments  at  eleven 
and  a  half  A.  M.,  with  tools,  etc.,  and  moved,  by  left  flank,  a 
few  rods  in  front  of  our  outer  line  of  breastworks.  Stacked 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  245 

arms  and  commenced,  by  order,  to  throw  up  a  new  line  of 
works  at  right  angle  with  the  old  line*  Worked  steadily 
till  five  P.  M.,  when  heavy  volleys  of  musketry  were  heard 
to  our  left,  and  a  yell  of  the  enemy ;  we  put  on  equipments 
and  resumed  work.  An  hour  later  an  attack  was  made  in 
our  front,  at  right  angles  with  the  line  we  had  partly 
finished,  which,  of  course,  furnished  us  no  protection,  and, 
our  skirmishers  being  driven  in,  a  rush  was  made  for  the 
stacks  of  arms,  which  caused  considerable  confusion.  As 
we  had  no  support  outside  of  the  intrenchments,  we  made 
our  way  back  to  our  old  position,  and,  as  soon  as  our 
skirmishers  arrived,  opened  a  brisk  fire,  which,  together 
with  shots  from  our  artillery — which  was  most  ably  served 
.this  day  —  had  the  effect  to  drive  back  the  enemy.  Our 
skirmishers  again  advanced  to  near  their  former  position 
and  no  further  trouble  occurred  during  the  night.  The 
regiment  escaped  with  only  two  wounded :  Sergeant 
William  White  of  Company  H,  and  H.  C.  Green  of  Com 
pany  I.  Three  recruits  arrived  for  Company  K,  one  an 
•old  soldier. 

"June  2d.  Quiet  morning.  Left  breastworks  at  three 
p.  M.,  moved  by  left  flank  slowly  along  eastward.  Had 
proceeded  a  mile  and  a  half  when  our  pickets  in  rear  were 
attacked.  We  had  just  passed  a  line  of  battle,  which  was 
soon  wheeled  to  the  right  and  marched  forward  on  the 
double-quick  towards  the  enemy.  Our  batteries  got  into 
position  and  a  brisk  fire  commenced  on  both  sides,  which 
continued  after  dark.  The  enemy  was  held  in  check. 
Our  brigade  was  not  engaged,  but,  while  lying  down  in 
readiness  in  the  open  field,  our  regiment  had  three  men 
wounded  by  our  own  shells.  Retired  a  short  distance  in 
rear  of  the  Gibson  House  —  said  to  be  eight  miles  from 
Richmond  in  an  air  line  —  and  threw  up  breastworks,  com- 

*An  odd  piece  of  engineering  never  explained  to  us. 


246  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

pleting  them  at  dark.  A  very  heavy  shower  before  the 
attack  wet  us  through,  and  made  ,the  roads  in  bad  con 
dition  for  awhile,  but  they  soon  dried  up.  Passed  the 
night  quietly  near  the  Gibson  House  (near  Bethesda 
Church). 

"June  3d.  Skirmishing  commenced  at  daylight  on  our 
right  front,  which  terminated  in  an  engagement,  six  and 
half  A.  M.  ;  the  Second  and  Third  Divisions  being  engaged. 
Several  charges  were  made  by  the  enemy,  who  were  repulsed 
each  time ;  losses  heavy  on  both  sides,  but,  we  having  the 
best  position  for  batteries,  our  loss  said  to  be  less  than  the 
enemy's.  They  planted  a  battery  quite  near  our  skirmish 
line,  but  were  prevented  from  using  it  by  our  skirmishers. 
Hard  fighting  during  the  day  with  ground  gained  by  our; 
side,  also  some  prisoners.  The  regiment  proceeded  to  the 
second  rear  line  of  intrenchments  at  three  P.  M.,  and  at 
five  commenced  to  build  quite  an  extensive  fort,  shaped 
like  a  square  :  eight  feet  high,  twenty-eight  feet  through  at 
base,  from  which  extends  a  platform  six  feet  wide,  termi 
nating  at  the  ditch,  eight  feet  deep  and  fifteen  feet  wide. 
The  regiment  was  divided  into  two  reliefs  and  continued 
work  through  the  night.  The  troops  behaved  well.  The 
rest  of  the  brigade  moved  forward  ;  had  a  few  wounded.* 

"  June  4th.  No  firing  heard  till  seven  A.  M.,  which  proved 
to  be  our  troops  discharging  their  muskets.  The  enemy 
left  our  front  at  four  A.  M.  Those  who  visited  the  battle 
field  pronounced  it  equal  in  severity  to  anything  ever  wit 
nessed.  Horses  covered  the  ground,  and  forty  were 
counted  in  the  space  of  an  acre.  Trees  were  full  of  holes, 
and  many  rebels  lay  where  they  fell ;  their  battery-men 
suffered  terribly.  Orders  at  seven  and  a  half  A.  M.  to  stop 
work  on  the  fort,  which  would  have  taken  three  days  to 
complete.  Three  cheers  heard  at  our  left  at  eleven 

*  Colonel  Schall,  of  Fifty-First  Pennsylvania,  was  killed  this  day. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  247 

o'clock  predicted  good  news.  We  moved  about  half  a 
mile  and  stacked  arms.  Troops  on  the  move.  Moved 
again  at  seven  P.  M.,  two  miles  south-eastward,  and  stacked 
arms  near  division  headquarters  and  put  up  shelter  tents, 
the  first  time  for  several  days.  A  rainy  night ;  some  picket 
firing. 

"  Sunday,  June  5th.  Marched,  five  and  a  half  A.  M.,  a 
short  distance,  and  stacked  arms  in  rear  of  the  first  line  of 
breastworks,  left  equipments,  etc.,  and  proceeded  in  front 
of  breastworks  to  make  a  passage  to  a  fort  being  built 
by  the  Fifty-First  New  York ;  after  which  worked  on 
fort.  Three  privates  of  our  regiment  wounded  while  at 
work.  Heavy  fighting  on  our  left,  nine  p.  M.,  and,  soon 
after,  skirmishing  in  our  front,  which  prevented  the  men 
from  working.  We  retired  to  our  stacks,  remaining  be 
hind  the  breastworks  until  midnight ;  then  moved  one  mile 
to  rear,  working  on  a  road  upon  a  side  hill  until  two  and 
a  half  A.  M.,  when  we  lay  down  to  rest. 

"June  6th.  Resumed  work  at  four  A.M.  on  road,  and  made 
bridge  near  General  Burnside's  headquarters.  Heavy 
shelling  by  the  enemy  in  the  afternoon,  several  shots 
•falling  near  the  regiment,  but  no  one  injured.  Very  warm 
day.  A  shower  at  dark.  Several  recruits  arrived  for  the 
regiment.  Henry  Card  found  a  box  of  hard  bread,  left  by 
some  cook  during  the  shelling,  which  replenished  our 
empty  haversacks.  Finished  work  on  the  bridge  at  ten 
p.  M.  and  turned  in  for  the  night. 

"June  yth.  Moved  at  five  A.  M.  to  the  fort  and  resumed 
work,  after  disposing  of  our  coffee.  The  regiment  worked 
by  wings  undisturbed  till  ten  A.  M.;  when  our  pickets  in 
front  were  attacked ;  stopped  work  until  our  line  was  re 
established,  when  the  firing  ceased,  and  work  was  again 
resumed  on  the  fort.  While  watching  the  progress  of 
work  on  the  stockade  a  minie-ball  passed  spitefully 


248  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

through  the  left  leg  of  my  pants,  just  above  the  knee,  the 
only  damage  done.  Heavy  shelling  by  the  enemy  in  the 
afternoon,  which  continued  one  and  a  half  hours ;  the  shots 
passing  over  us  to  the  rear.  Heavy  musketry  on  our  right. 
The  Fifty-First  New  York,  while  at  work  on  intrenchments 
at  the  front,  was  attacked  and  several  men  taken  prisoners. 
A  flag  of  truce  appeared  to  our  left,  seven  p.  M.,  from  the 
enemy,  to  bury  the  dead,  and  there  was  no  firing  for  two 
hours  in  that  quarter.  Considerable  picket  firing  during 
the  night.  Relieved  from  work  at  nine  P.  M.,  retired  to 
•woods  outside  of  breastworks  and  bivouac  for  the  night, 
being  relieved  by  the  Eighth  Michigan  regiment. 

"  June  8th.  Resumed  work  on, the  fort,  six  A.  M.,  relieving 
in  turn  the  Eighth  Michigan,  and  commenced  a  traverse 
from  right  front  corner  to  centre  of  the  rear.  Dimensions 
of  fort  :  rear,  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet ;  right  side, 
eighty-three  feet ;  front,  seventy-two  feet ;  left,  one  hun 
dred  and  three  feet.  Were  relieved  at  nine  P.  M.  and 
passed  the  night  quietly  in  same  position  as  before.  One  of 
Company  A  was  wounded  slightly  in  the  head  while  at  work 
on  the  fort.  A  quiet  day  in  front,  only  light  picket  firing. 

"June  Qth.  Returned  to  the  fort  at  six  and  a  half  A.  M., 
finding  three  guns  of  Roemer's  battery  placed  there  during 
the  night.  Captain  Park  being  unwell,  Captain  Blanchard 
took  command.  Finished  the  traverse  and  made  a  maga 
zine,  six  feet  deep,  twelve  feet  long,  covered  with  five  feet 
of  earth.  A  slight  shower  in  the  afternoon.  Finished 
work  at  ten  P.  M.  and  retired  to  our  usual  position  for  the 
night.  Quiet  night,  moonlight  evening ;  the  boys  in  the 
best  of  spirits. 

"June  icth.  A  pleasant  day.  Captain  Blanchard  in 
command.  Remained  quiet  all  day.  Made  out  company 
report  from  June  ist  to  date.  Roemer's  battery  opened 
from  the  fort  at  noon,  continuing  till  eight  P.  M.,  at 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  249 

intervals  of  five  minutes.  One  shot  from  the  enemy 
wounded  three  men  in  our  front,  bursting  over  the  rifle 
pits.  Passed  a  night  of  undisturbed  rest." 

Such  was  life  in  the  trenches  on  the  Cold  Harbor  front. 
Two  members  of  the  regiment  died  of  wounds  received 
during  these  movements  :  James  W.  Bartlett,  of  Company 
A,  and  George  F.  Sargent,  of  Company  G.  The  diet  upon 
which  these  severe  labors  were  prosecuted  was  hard  bread, 
coffee,  salt  pork,  and,  occasionally,  fresh  beef ;  no  vege 
tables  or  change  of  any  kind  was  made,  yet  few  com 
plained  of  illness.  The  endurance  of  the  men  was 
wonderful,  and  their  zeal  was  constantly  commended  by 
Major  Morton,  who  was  superintending  the  work,  visiting 
it  from  time  to  time  day  and  night,  so  that  he  seemed  not 
to  require  sleep'  to  support  his  energetic  life.  The  labors 
of  the  officers  were  lighter  than  those  of  the  men  —  simply 
to  oversee  the  workers  —  yet  even  they  speak  of  the 
severity  of  the  constant  mental  and  physical  strain.  Cap- 
lain  Hudson  showed  special  ability  in  executing  the  plans 
of  Major  Morton  upon  the  fort.  This  earthwork  when 
completed  was  called  Fort  Fletcher,  or  the  Red  Fort,  from 
the  color  of  the  soil  thrown  up.  Heavy  oblong  shells 
were  found  in  digging,  relics  of  the  siege  artillery  used  in 
McClellan's  campaign,  for  in  our  front  were  Gaines's  Mill, 
Mechanicsville,  New  Cold  Harbor,  and  other  fields  of 
McClellan's  operations.  The  movements  during  the  days 
above  detailed  were  always  to  the  left,  General  Burnside 
covering  the  right  of  the  army,  and  withdrawing  from 
Shady  Grove  to  Bethesda  Church  and  then  to  Cold 
Harbor.  The  whole  district  became  a  maze  of  lines  of 
-earthworks,  running  in  all  directions,  and  difficult  to  thread 
even  to  us  who  saw  it  grow.  The  owners  of  plantations 
thereabouts  must  have  been  astonished  when  they  came  to 
examine  their  premises  after  our  departure. 


250  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  losses  of  the  opposing  armies  to  this  date  had  been 
enormous,  that  of  the  Union  the  heaviest  by  far,  as  it  was 
generally  the  attacking  party.  The  men  who  had  fallen 
could  not  be  replaced,  they  were  the  bravest  and  most  ex 
perienced  of  the  army,  and  the  recruits  and  soldiers  from 
the  fortifications  were  not  equal  to  them  in  the  steadiness 
which  only  long  service  in  action  at  the  front  can  give. 
Yet  the  pluck  of  the  men,  as  stated  in  the  diary  above, 
continued  good ;  they  had  learned  to  dread  making  assaults 
upon  fortified  lines,  for  hitherto,  cases  of  surprise  excepted,. 
they  had  found  such  defences  impregnable ;  but  they 
shared  the  confidence  of  their  indomitable  leader,  Grant, 
that  somewhere,  by  manoeuvring  and  constant  pressure, 
he  would  find  the  weak  spot  in  General  Lee's  armor. 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  the  Ninth  Corps,  which  had 
hitherto  received  orders  directly  from  General  Grant,  on 
account  of  General  Burnside's  seniority  in  rank  to  General 
Meade,  was,  by  Burnside's  waiver  of  superior  rank,  perma 
nently  joined  to  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  This  ended 
all  talk  about  independent  expeditions,  expectations  of 
which  had  been  kept  alive  among  the  men  by  unfounded 
rumors.  The  number  of  men  in  the  Thirty-Fifth  at  this 
time  was :  for  duty,  two  hundred  and  fifty-one,  absent, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five,  total,  three  hundred  and 
eighty-six.  Quartermaster  Cutter  joined  the  regiment  for 
a  few  days  from  the  trains,  all  the  quartermasters  being 
ordered  to  their  regiments  to  oversee  the  commissary 
department,  which  needed  supervision  among  the  new 
troops.  Lieutenant  Berry  joined  from  recruiting  service, 
and  was  received  with  a  warm  welcome ;  he  was  a  bright 
soldierly  spirit  and  a  general  favorite. 

The  strength  of  Lee's  position  along  the  Chickahominy 
was  so  formidable  that  Grant,  having  delivered  the  grand 
assault  unsuccessfully  on  the  third  of  June,  now  turned  to 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  251 

the  left  again ;  this  time,  as  at  Vicksburg,  by  a  sweep 
to  the  south  upon  the  enemy's  communication  so  grand  in 
conception  that  even  Lee  did  not  mistrust  it,  and  remained 
north  of  the  James  River  until  our  attack  upon  Petersburg 
was  actually  begun.  So  quietly  was  our  army  withdrawn 
from  Cold  Harbor  that  the  artillery  of  the  enemy  could  be 
heard  by  our  retiring  pickets  firing  upon  our  forts  for  an 
hour  after  the  garrisons  had  left  them.  The  Fifth  Corps 
and  cavalry  crossed  the  Chickahominy  to  our  left  of  Lee's 
position,  and  then  facing  Richmond  at  the  White  Oak 
swamp,  served  as  a  shield,  behind  which  the  rest  of  the 
army  passed  undisturbed  to  the  James  River. 

We  started  on  the  twelfth  of  June,  repairing  the  road  to 
Tunstall's  Station  on  the  White  House  Railroad,  which 
we  reached  at  evening ;  Companies  B  and  K  staying  behind 
to  repair  a  bridge,  then  following  in  rear.  The  cooks  had 
drawn  the  rations,  and,  unfortunately  for  them,  had  no  time 
to  distribute  them  before  the  start ;  they  will,  doubtless, 
remember  the  "  toting  "  of  their  burdens  over  the  eleven 
miles  to  the  station  that  warm  day.  The  day  following, 
slow  progress  was  made,  some  ten  miles  south-easterly 
towards  the  lower  Chickahominy,  stopping  occasionally  to 
assist  the  wagons,  which  blocked  the  roads.  Captain  Park 
was  in  command  again.  In  the  evening  we  were  enter 
tained  with  a  road-side  concert,  in  which  Captains  Blanchard 
and  Ingell  and  Sergeant  Nason,  with  others,  joined.  On  the 
fourteenth  we  were  at  work  at  daylight  repairing  the  road 
through  a  swamp  hole ;  then  moved  on,  crossing  Black  Creek 
at  Forge  Mills,  and  passed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Chicka 
hominy  soon  after  at  Jones's  Bridge.  Here  an  island  divided 
the  stream,  requiring  but  one  pontoon  upon  one  side,  two 
upon  the  other,  to  bridge  the  river ;  not  a  wide  stream,  surely, 
for  one  so  famous  ;  but  the  swamps  upon  either  side  were 
extensive  and  wild  and  intricate  beyond  description. 


252  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Pushing  along  the  road,  in  advance  of  everything,  towards 
the  James  River,  we  were  told  that  Wild's  African  Brigade 
was  in  the  neighborhood,  but  we  did  not  have  the  good 
fortune  to  meet  our  former  colonel,  or  the  officers  trans 
ferred  from  the  Thirty-Fifth  to  his  command.  The  country 
soon  became  open  and  cultivated.  The  road  was  shaded 
by  cherry  and  mulberry  trees,  which,  when  we  halted, 
became  alive  with  blue  jackets,  gathering  their  fill  of  the 
pleasant  fruits.  As  we  approached  the  James  the  masts 
of  transports  could  be  seen  above  the  trees  upon  the  right, 
enlivening  the  hearts  of  the  men  who  were  tired  of  the 
endless  pine  forests  we  had  been  traversing.  In  the  after 
noon  the  regiment  constructed  a  small  bridge  for  the 
artillery,  then  moved  into  the  open  country  upon  the 
north  bank  of  the  river,  at  first  halting  among  the  other 
corps  near  Charles  City  Court  House,  but  keeping  on 
again,  and  in  the  evening  reaching  General  Burnside's 
headquarters  at  Wilcox's  Landing.  It  was  pleasant  to 
.again  view  a  wide  stretch  of  open  water  and  homelike- 
looking  farms  and  fields. 

In  the  morning,  June  i5th,  the  scene  was  surpassingly 
fine  as  we  marched  down  to  the  river  bank.  It  was  a 
bright  clear  day,  and  the  blue  waters  of  the  James  danced 
and  sparkled  in  the  sunlight,  enlivened  by  white-winged 
fleets  of  transports,  with  gunboats  here  and  there,  and 
steam  tugs  moving  busily  about.  On  shore  the  masses  of 
troops,  with  bright  gun  barrels  and  brilliant  flags,  covered 
the  hills,  waiting  to  cross.  The  Second  and  Sixth  Corps 
crossed  by  ferry  at  Westover  Landing,  above  us.  The 
Fifth  and  Ninth  Corps  and  trains  of  wagons  passed  over 
the  remarkable  pontoon-bridge,  half  a  mile  long,  from  bank 
to  bank  of  the  wide  stream.  During  the  day  the  regiment  was 
at  work  building  rafts  and  repairing  a  pier,  the  latter  under 
direction  of  Captain  Hudson.  At  eight  in  the  evening 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  253 

the  approaches  to  the  pontoon-bridge  were  completed,  and 
we  crossed  to  the  opposite  bank,  among  the  first  troops 
to  arrive  south  of  the  river.  We  waited  several  hours  in 
the  darkness  upon  the  bank  for  the  First  Division  to  over 
take  us,  enabling  the  unlucky  cooks,  again  behind  with 
rations,  to  catch  up. 

The  memorable  campaign  north  of  the  James  was  ended. 
The  regiments  which  had  crossed  the  Rapidan  with  such 
full  ranks  were  now  shockingly  reduced  in  numbers ;  the 
flower  of  the  army  had  perished.  It  was  impossible  that 
men  should  pass  through  such  trials  and  labors  so 
incessantly  prosecuted  without  injury  to  their  morale  as 
combatants ;  they  were  weary  of  the  strife  and  longed  for 
rest,  yet  they  were  not  disheartened ;  ranks  and  files  were 
as  well  kept  as  ever,  but,  so  tired  were  they,  it  was  only 
dogged  determination  that  kept  the  men  moving.  Our 
generals  had  not  achieved  the  impossible  in  carrying  by 
assault  Lee's  impregnable  intrenchments,  but  they  had 
tamed  the  spirit  of  the  Confederate  army  from  self-confident 
pugnacity  to  a  waning  and  discouraging  defensive.  It 
recognized  the  hand  of  the  conquerer  impelling  it  into 
"the  last  ditch." 


CHAPTER   X. 

SIEGE   OF    PETERSBURG THE    MINE,    1864. 

THE  Second  Corps  having  taken  the  advance  towards 
Petersburg,  the  march  of  our  division  was  resumed, 
and  continued  with  scarcely  a  halt  through  the  rest  of  the 
warm  night.  At  daylight,  June  16,  the  woods  beside  the 
road  were  full  of  stragglers  from  the  troops  ahead  who 
had  stopped  to  breakfast,  and  General  Ledlie,  who  had  on 
the  ninth  of  June  succeeded  General  Crittenden  in  the 
command  of  the  First  Division,  complained  in  strong 
language  of  the  "coffee  boilers."  We  kept  on  until  nine 
in  the  morning,  and  then  halted  ourselves  for  the  indis 
pensable  pot  of  coffee.  About  five  in  the  afternoon,  after 
a  march  of  eighteen  miles,  we  reached  the  open  undulating 
country  within  two  miles  of  the  City  of  Petersburg,  ap 
proaching  it  from  the  north-east.  Other  troops  had  pre 
ceded  us,  and  had  carried  by  assault  part  of  the  outer 
line  of  strong  detached  earthworks,  built  long  before  for 
the  protection  of  the  city.  By  the  road-side  lay  the  first 
dead  negro  soldier  we  had  seen  in  the  campaign.  The 
regiment  halted  by  Major  Morton's  direction  at  some  old 
log:  huts  or  Confederate  barracks,  and  remained  there  over 

o 

night,  listening  to  the  heavy  skirmishing  fire  of  the  Eigh 
teenth  and  Second  Corps  in  front,  and  expecting  moment 
arily  to  be  called  upon  for  work. 

The  First  Division  was  not  actively  engaged  until    the 
following  afternoon,  June   17,  when  they  made  a   dashing 


255  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

charge  from  one  of  the  deep  ravines  and  captured  a  line 
of  works,  but  were  unable  to  hold  them  on  account  of  a 
failure  of  ammunition,  as  appears  in  the  record  of  the 
Twenty- First  Massachusetts  in  the  Adjutant- General's 
Report  for  1864.  Major  Morton,  our  too  intrepid  chief 
tain,  was  killed  while  retiring  with  Hartranft's  brigade  from 
an  advanced  position,  which  they  had  taken  but  were  too 
weak  to  hold,  near  the  Norfolk  Railroad  cut  on  the  left. 
He  fell  somewhere  near  the  spot  afterwards  occupied  by 
Fort  Morton.  His  loss  at  any  time  would  have  been 
inestimable,  but  happening  at  that  time,  just  at  the  begin 
ning  of  siege  operations,  it  was  peculiarly  heavy,  and  deeply 
affected  all  who  knew  him  and  recognized  his  value  to  the 
army.  Our  old  friend,  Major  McKibben,  so  conspicuous 
on  General  Ferrero's  staff  in  East  Tennessee,  was  also- 
severely  wounded  in  the  same  affair. 

At  dark  the  regiment  moved  to  the  left,  and  worked 
most  of  the  night  turning  the  face  of  a  Confederate  lunette, 
which  had  been  captured,  it  was  said,  by  the  Seventh 
Rhode  Island,  Thirty  Sixth  Massachusetts  and  others  of 
General  Potter's  division.  There  was  an  uncountable 
number  of  muskets  lying  about,  which  had  belonged  to 
the  Confederates  who  had  been  captured  or  had  fled, 
leaving  their  arms  behind  them.  We  filled  the  ditch  on 
the  north  front  of  the  work  sufficiently  to  form  platforms 
for  artillery,  and  cut  embrasures  through  the  parapet 
opening  towards  the  enemy,  who  still  occupied  a  line  of 
works  on  the  hither  side  of  the  pine  woods  —  afterwards 
our  camp  ground  —  and  from  that  elevation  spitefully  threw 
over  an  occasional  shell,  the  gunners,  probably,  being  at 
tracted  by  the  gleam  or  glint  of  our  shovels.  When  the  work 
was  completed,  it  was  occupied  by  the  Fourteenth  Massa 
chusetts  battery.  Our  men  retired  to  the  woods  in  rear  and 
got  such  sleep  as  they  could  behind  their  stacks  of  arms. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  256 

In  the  morning  (eighteenth)  the  Confederates  had  with 
drawn  from  the  front  of  the  pine  woods,  mentioned  above, 
to  the  ridge  beyond  the  railroad  and  the  brooks  forming 
Harrison's  Creek,  and  had  established  permanent  lines 
upon  the  north  and  east  sides  of  the  elevation  called 
Cemetery  Hill,  which  lay  between  them  and  Petersburg. 
Details  of  men  were  sent  out  from  the  regiment  for  bridge 
building,  road  cutting,  and  even  to  bury  or  burn  the  bodies 
of  the  artillery  horses  killed  in  the  action.  At  night  we 
camped  in  the  grove  near  General  Burnside's  headquarters. 
The  tool  wagons  arrived  bringing  our  knapsacks,  which  we 
had  not  seen  since  leaving  Cold  Harbor. 

On  the  twentieth  of  June  the  regiment  moved  camp  to 
the  pine  woods  spoken  of  above,  and  located  near  Genera! 
Ledlie's  headquarters,  where  we  remained  for  nearly  two 
months,  during  the  rest  of  June,  July  and  part  of  August. 
During  these  hot,  dry  months  of  summer,  the  siege  was 
carried  on  with  great  zeal  and  the  defence  was  equally 
persistent.  The  Ninth  Corps  extended  from  the  locality 
of  Fort  Haskell  and  the  left  of  the  Second  Corps,  near 
the  hill  upon  which  Fort  Steadman  was  afterwards  con 
structed,  through  the  deep  valley  under  Cemetery  Hill 
and  between  Fort  Morton  and  the  Crater,  towards  the 
position  of  Fort  Rice  and  the  right  of  the  Fifth  Corps. 
The  distance  between  the  hostile  lines  was  greater  in  front 
of  our  division  than  in  front  of  the  other  divisions,  the 
brook  valley  being  wider  arid  flatter ;  but  all  our  advanced 
infantry  lines  were  commanded  by  the  higher  position  of 
the  enemy.  Our  infantry  lay  in  two  lines  of  trenches, 
those  of  the  front  line  called  the  pickets  being  relieved 
every  three  days  by  the  rear  line.  The  difference  between 
them  was  not  material,  the  most  important  item  being  that 
the  rear  had  more  shade  from  the  pine  woods  and  more 
.undisturbed  rest. 


257  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

During  the  whole  two  months  a  steady  firing  of  mus 
ketry  was  maintained  between  the  advanced  lines  day  and 
night,  and  as  soon  as  the  artillery  could  be  placed  in  posi 
tion  under  suitable  cover  this  arm  also  joined  in  the  horrid 
din.  Not  only  field  guns  and  siege  cannon  were  used,  but 
also,  when  a  siege  was  decided  upon,  mortars  of  various 
calibre  were  hauled  to  the  front  and  a  perpendicular  fire 
of  bomb-shells  opened,  in  which  proceeding  the  Con 
federates  also  took  part,  at  first  with  small  coehorns, 
afterwards  with  the  largest  mortars.  Death  stalked  abroad 
in  that  valley  in  the  most  varied  form ;  the  air  was  filled 
with  lead  and  iron  missiles  of  every  shape.  Sharpshooters 
watched  the  opposing  lines  with  quick  eyes  for  an  exposed 
head  or  limb,  and  wherever  men  were  supposed  to  be  con 
gregated  the  bomb-shells  were  dropped  with  fatal  accuracy. 
Hair-breadth  escapes  were  the  order  of  the  day,  and  of 
every  day  and  night. 

At  first  our  camp  was  pitched  as  usual,  with  shelters  of 
green  boughs  for  additional  shade,  but  casualties  and  nar 
row  escapes  became  so  frequent  that  bullet-proof  shelters 
or  stockades  had  to  be  thrown  up  upon  the  exposed  side 
of  the  tents,  which  allowed  sleep  with  a  sense  of  security. 
The  dead  and  wounded  of  the  battles  of  the  seventeenth 
had  been  removed,  except  the  body  of  one  Confederate 
who  had  crawled  into  the  bushes  to  die,  and  remained 
undiscovered  until  the  odor  of  decomposition  disclosed 
such  an  unwelcome  guest  upon*  our  camp  ground.  There 
was  some  water  to  be  had  at  first  from  springs,  but  the 
burning  sun  soon  shrunk  them,  and  the  men  resorted  to 
well  digging,  sinking  as  many  as  four  barrels  in  depth  to 
reach  the  water,  which,  when  obtained,  was  sweet  and  cool. 
Morning,  noon  and  evening  the  bands  of  the  Fifty-Sixth 
Massachusetts  and  other  regiments  played  at  General 
Ledlie's  headquarters  to  cheer  the  men,  with  good  effect ; 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  258 

but  we  got  extremely  well  acquainted  with  their  collection 
of  music,  patriotic,  operatic  or  other,  during  that  summer. 
We  staid  so  long  in  this  camp  it  began  to  seem  quite  like 
a  home,  and  its  incidents  were  family  events.  On  the 
twenty-fifth  of  June,  Lieutenant  Hatch  and  Company  D 
returned  to  the  regiment  from  detached  service,  having 
been  absent  since  the  fifth  of  May. 

The  duties  of  the  regiment  were  too  various  to  mention 
in  detail;  they  followed  naturally  the  progress  of  a  siege. 
At  first  there  was  road  cutting  and  bridge  building,  to  get 
the  artillery  forward ;  then  the  infantry  lines  were  strength 
ened,  cover  thrown  up  to  protect  the  cannoneers,  and  abatis 
of  felled  trees  laid  in  front  of  these,  the  day  work  being 
the  stockading  of  General  Ledlie's  headquarters,  and  bower 
building  for  shade.  The  infantry  line  well  settled  and 
secure,  strong  redoubts  or  forts,  with  thick  parapets,  were 
begun  at  prominent  points,  and  the  labor  upon  them  pushed 
forward  day  and  night  by  reliefs.  The  principal  works  of 
the  kind  near  us  were  a  mortar  battery  and  Fort  Morton. 
After  the  enclosures  of  these  were  completed  came  the 
cutting  of  the  embrasures,  digging  magazines,  bomb  proofs 
and  traverses,  opening  of  covered  ways  of  approach  from 
rear  to  front,  and  protecting  the  outer  sides  with  obstacles, 
ditches  and  entanglements.  We  lead  the  same  busy  life 
as  at  Cold  Harbor,  detailed  in  the  last  chapter,  excepting 
that  the  work  was  now  much  heavier,  the  cuttings  and 
covered  ways  were  deeper,  and  the  exposure  while  at  work 
greater. 

Labor  at  the  front  occupied  most  of  the  night  time. 
The  men  were  frequently  employed  digging  ditches  or 
planting  abatis  between  the  lines,  exposed  to  the  enemy's 
fire,  their  only  cover  being  the  darkness,  and  it  took  a  cool 
head  and  steady  hand  to  stand  upon  the  parapet  of  our 
earthworks,  unsheltered  from  the  cross  fire,  and  cut  em- 


259  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

brasures  for  guns,  drive  the  poles  and  make  the  necessary 
hurdle  work  or  wattling  to  support  the  earth  at  the  sides. 
It  would  be  pleasant  to  mention  the  names  of  some  yet 
living  who  were  conspicuous  for  steadiness  in  such  work, 
but  as  they  might  object  we  forbear.  Among  others,  Ser 
geant  Oakman,  of  Company  C,  who  afterwards  died  of 
wounds  received  in  action,  seemed  to  linger  over  such  a 
task  as  if  he  had  a  partiality  for  it,  and  would  not  quit 
until  his  critical  eye  was  satisfied.  Captain  Hudson  took 
such  interest,  in  his  always  earnest  way,  as  to  be  appointed 
engineer  officer  of  the  division.  After  the  main  lines  were 
thus  established,  the  regiment,  for  days  in  succession,  was 
taken  to  the  rear  into  the  woods,  and  taught  by  the  regulars 
to  construct  gabions,  fascines,  and  other  siege  materials.' 
From  the  eighth  to  the  twentieth  of  July  the  regiment 
averaged  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  gabions  a  day,  and 
became  very  expert. 

Now  and  then  a  small  squad  of  recruits  would  arrive 
from  Boston,  usually  bringing  a  long  roll  of  enlisted  men 
who  never  put  in  an  appearance  —  having  secured  the 
heavy  bounties,  for  which  they  had  enlisted,  they  had 
jumped  the  service  on  the  way  to  the  front.  Those  who 
came  through  were  the  men  who  had  intended  honest 
service,  and  they  generally  made  respectable  soldiers. 
These  new  men  were  kept  under  drill,  but  the  old  mem 
bers  were  so  busy  as  not  to  admit  even  of  dress-parade  at 
evening;  an  occasional  inspection  was  the  only  manoeuvre. 

Our  labors  at  the  front  were  not  performed  without  loss. 
Among  the  men  were  many  slight  wounds  or  injuries  not 
of  record.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  June,  Corporal  Charles 
P.  Merrill,  of  Company  B,  had  an  arm  broken  by  a  falling 
tree ;  Samuel  L.  Knight,  of  Company  F,  was  wounded  in 
camp  while  preparing  supper.  On  the  night  of  July  4, 
while  at  work  at  the  front,  Charles  G.  Bates,  of  Company 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  260. 

C,  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  bowels  ;  Sergeant  Oakman 
was  also  wounded ;  George  T.  Tucker,  of  Company  I,  was 
shot  in  the  body  and  died.  On  the  sixth,  William  H. 
Amerige,  of  Company  F,  was  wounded  in  the  chin  by  a 
piece  of  a  shell  which  burst  immediately  after  leaving  the 
gun  of  one  of  our  batteries,  in  front  of  which  we  were  at 
work;  and  there  were  others  of  a  like  nature.  At  night 
the  camp  was  so  raked  by  bullets  coming  over  from  the 
lines,  chicking  in  the  tree  trunks  and  logs,  it  seemed  more 
dangerous  to  go  about  than  it  really  was ;  frequently  a 
comrade  in  passing  out  to  the  mail  bag  would  say,  "  Good 
bye,  boys,  I'm  going  to  post  a  letter/'  by  way  of  joke  upon 
the  dangers  of  the  locality. 

Our  greatest  loss  here  was  in  our  commanding  officer  — 
Captain  Edward  G.  Park  —  on  the  first  day  of  July.  The 
woods  had  become  so  thinned  by  cutting  in  our  front  that 
in  the  afternoon,  when  the  western  sun  shone  in  brightly, 
our  regimental  headquarters  were  quite  visible  to  the  sharp 
shooters  in  the  Confederate  lines ;  but  all  had  become  so 
accustomed  to  the  place  that  the  stray  bullets  were  little 
noticed,  except  to  point  a  jest  when  any  one  was  startled 
by  the  sudden  hiss  of  a  passing  ball.  The  captain  was  hit 
by  one  of  these  shots,  while  close  to  headquarters,  at  this 
favorite  hour  for  sharpshooting,  near  the  spot  where 
Knight  had  been  struck  a  few  days  before.  His  excla 
mation  called  several  to  him,  who  assisted  him  to  his 
camp  bed,  upon  which  he  reclined  with  expressions  of 
intense  pain.  His  coat  was  removed,  and  it  was  found 
that  a  minie-ball  had  struck  the  elbow  and  passed  under 
the  muscles  of  the  right  forearm,  some  six  inches,  where 
it  could  be  plainly  distinguished.  The  group  about  him 
tried  to  make  light  of  the  affair  to  the  captain  in  our 
jocular  way,  calling  it  a  furlough,  and  congratulating  him 
upon  his  good  luck.  In  truth  those  present  envied  him 


26 1  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

the  wound.  An  ambulance  was  brought  and  the  captain 
was  transferred  to  it,  and  left  for  the  field  hospital  —  as 
we  suppose  for  a  brief  excursion  home  —  after  his  wound 
was  dressed ;  but  it  was  his  last  parting  from  the  regiment 
he  loved  so  well.  He  received  the  furlough  as  suggested, 
but,  owing  to  the  debilitated  state  of  his  system  from  the 
campaign  in  Mississippi  and  the  current  year,  the  flesh 
refused  to  heal,  gangrene  set  in,  and  he  died  at  his  home 
in  Roxbury,  August  14,  1864.  His  father  writes:  "With 
out  opening  his  eyes,  and  in  a  voice  clear  as  a  clarion,  he 
broke  the  solemn  stillness  of  that  beautiful  Sabbath  morn 
ing  by  the  command,  '  Stack  Arms  ! '  "  then  sank  into  the 
sleep  of  death  ;  the  march  of  life  for  him  was  ended. 

He  had  been  wounded  in  the  left  arm  at  Antietam,  as 
First  Lieutenant  of  Company  K ;  returned  to  the  regiment 
at  Falmouth ;  went  with  us  to  Vicksburg,  where  he,  with 
so  many  others,  nearly  died  of  disease,  which  prevented 
his  participation  in  the  East  Tennessee  campaign.  Before 
his  death  he  received  the  commission  of  major  in  the  regi 
ment,  upon  the  recommendation,  among  others,  of  General 
Burnside,  in  the  following  letter,  which  is  reproduced  as  a 
tribute  to  the  major's  memory,  and  also  as  showing  our 
general's  estimate  of  the  services  of  the  Thirty-Fifth,  as 
engineers : — 

"  HEADQUARTERS  NINTH  ARMY  CORPS, 

"  BEFORE  PETERSBURG,  VA.,  July  20,  1864. 
"To  His  EXCELLENCY  JOHN  A.  ANDREW, 

"  Governor  of  Massachusetts  : 

"Sir,  —  I  have  pleasure  in  recommending  to  your  favor 
able  consideration,  for  the  vacant  majority  of  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers  Infantry,  Captain  Edward 
G.  Park,  senior  captain.  His  wounds  at  Antietam  and 
before  Petersburg,  his  disease  after  the  Mississippi  cam- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  262 

paign  entitled  him  to  consideration  ;  still  more  so  does 
the  praise  which  Major  Morton,  late  chief  engineer  in  my 
staff,  has  always  bestowed  on  the  zeal  and  ability  shown 
in  the  government  and  direction  of  the  Thirty-Fifth,  which 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  present  campaign  has  been 
detailed  as  an  engineer  corps  under  his  orders.  I  advocate 
the  captain's  claim  to  promotion  with  sincerity  and  con 
fidence.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"A.  E.  BURNSIDE, 

"  Major-  General  U.  S.  Vols" 

A  "  Memorial  of  Major  Park  "  has  been  published,  but 
is  now  out  of  print,  which  contains  many  interesting  par 
ticulars  of  his  life  and  the  great  sacrifice  which  he  made 
for  the  country.  From  lines  therein  by  W.  R.  E.  we  pluck 
this  flower  to  place  upon  his  grave  : 

"  Death  were  no  terror  to  his  soul,  but  only  sweet  release, 
If  so  the  war-torn  land  might  taste  the  earlier  fruit  of  peace." 

The  officers  with  the  regiment  at  this  time  were  Captains 
Blanchard,  Ingell  and  Hudson,  Lieutenants  Hatch,  Berry, 
Farrington,  White,  Wright,  Cobb  (acting  adjutant)  and 
Mason  ;  Captain  Meserve  being  on  duty  at  corps  head 
quarters.  In  so  small  a  group  the  loss  of  Major  Park 
made  a  deep  impression. 

Captain  Blanchard  took  command  after  Major  Park 
left,  and  did  his  best  to  sustain  the  dignity  he  esteemed 
so  highly  during  the  following  month.  The  adjutant 
jokingly  told  him  to  be  careful  of  himself,  for  to  take 
command  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  to  receive  a  death 
warrant;  it  would  be  his  turn  next.  But  the  Captain  of 
"bully"  B  considered  himself  as  invulnerable  in  body  as 
he  certainly  was  in  spirit. 


263  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Those  were  laborious  days,  and  trying  to  the  soul  and 
body  of  man.  After  the  tremendous  exertions  of  the 
campaign  we  seemed  to  be  little  nearer  the  end.  It  is 
always  darkest  just  before  day,  and  that  hot  summer  under 
fire  was  the  murkiest  of  all.  The  political  excitement  at 
the  North  was  at  fever  heat.  The  peace  party  declared 
the  war  a  failure,  and  newspapers  containing  such  doctrine 
and  the  most  discouraging  views  were  freely  circulated  in 
the  army,  giving  to  the  men  in  the  ranks,  who  had  little 
other  means  of  forming  a  judgment,  false  impressions  of 
the  strength  of  our  opponents  and  of  the  spirit  of  the  North. 
It  was  not  until  the  atmosphere  was  cleared  by  Sherman's 
and  Sheridan's  victories  and  the  November  presidential 
election  that  the  country  was  sure  of  its  position ;  mean 
time  partisan  politicians  did  all  they  could  to  blacken 
character  and  discourage  patriotism.  It  is  wonderful  that 
men  could  be  got  on  any  terms  to  enlist  in  our  armies,  or 
that  those  who  had  enlisted  remained  steadfast  under  such 
showers  of  bullets  from  the  front  and  of  invectives  from 
the  rear. 

Among  the  enlisted  men  there  was  little  inclination  for 
fun,  an  occasional  sing  together  was  about  all  the  circum 
stances  admitted.  To  rest  out  the  weariness  of  labors, 
which  were  double  severe  in  that  Southern  climate  in  mid 
summer,  was  about  all  they  longed  for.  Captain  Ingell, 
however,  here  as  everywhere,  was  irrepressible  in  spirit, 
and  must  get  up  a  dinner  party.  The  service  of  plate  was 
such  an  assortment  of  battered  tin  plates  and  cups  as  had 
survived,  in  the  mess  chest,  the  many  journeys  of  the 
regiment ;  the  food  the  best  the  commissary's  stores 
supplied,  which  were  better  than  ordinary  from  our  near 
ness  to  our  base  of  supplies  at  City  Point.  These,  with 
sundry  sutler's  goods,  garnished  with  IngelPs  smiling 
welcome,  made  a  feast  not  to  be  despised,  as  Captain 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  264 

Meserve  indicates  in  the  following  witty  lines,  which  breathe 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion  : 

"  I  '11  ne'er  forget  a  table  set 

At  Captain  Ingell's  tent, 
A  merchant  prince  could  scarce  evince 

Such  airs  grandiloquent. 
He  sent  behests  to  numerous  guests 

And  courtly  was  his  phrase ; 
With  welcome  hand  and  greeting  bland 

He  asked  us  in4o  'graze.' 
The  narrow  board  was  richly  stored 

With  commissary  fare, 
And  O,  my  eyes  !  a  rich  surprise, 

Tomatoes  too  were  there. 
But  better  still,  a  right  good-will 

Was  very  manifest ; 
A  merrier  set  was  never  met 

A  soldier's  lunch  to  test." 

Captain  Ingell's  genius  for  fun  shone  most  resplendent 
at  such  times.  He  had  all  the  wit  and  humor  of  old  Jack 
Falstaff,  but  added  thereto  the  courage  of  a  soldier  and 
the  kindest  of  hearts. 

A  badge  for  the  Ninth  Corps  was  adopted,  and  required 
to  be  worn  conspicuously  upon  the  cap.  It  was  a  shield 
bearing  a  crossed  anchor  and  cannon,  with  a  cable  fouled 
about  the  anchor  in  the  form  of  the  figure  9,  emblematic 
of  the  early  history  of  the  corps,  as  the  Coast  Division  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  General  W.  F.  Bartlett  took 
command  of  the  brigade  on  the  twenty-third  of  July,  and 
thoughtfully  sent  to  the  men  of  the  regiment  a  package  of 
home  newspapers,  as  a  notice  of  his  arrival  and  kind 
intentions  towards  us."* 

At  the  sutler's,  several  men  had  been  met  from  the 
Second  Division  whose  clothing  was  so  deeply  stained 
with  the  yellow  clay  of  the  soil  as  to  excite  question  how 

*See  page  no  of  General  F.  W.  Palfrey's  Memoir  of  General  Wm.  F.  Bartlett. 
19 


265  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

it  happened.  In  this  way  the  secret  leaked  out  that  the 
Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania,  old  coal  miners,  under  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Henry  Pleasants,  were  digging  a  mine  in 
front  of  General  Potter's  division,  extending  under  the 
enemy's  fort.  Towards  the  end  of  July,  Adjutant  Wash- 
burn,  who  had  been  serving,  since  Spottsylvania,  on  the 
staff  of  General  Sigfried,  in  Ferrero's  Fourth  Division, 
colored  troops,  happened  into  camp  and  informed  us  that 
the  mine  was  nearly  completed,  and  that  his  division  was 
under  daily  drill,  practising  the  manoeuvres  to  be  executed 
when  the  mine  should  be  exploded  and  the  division  should 
head  the  charge  into  the  Confederate  lines.  Small  pieces 
of  the  stiff  marl,  dug  through  in  cutting  the  shaft,  were 
handed  about  among  the  men  as  curiosities.  A  great 
event  was  approaching.  During  all  this  time  the  regiment 
was  at  work,  day  times,  upon  the  gabions,  which  at  night 
they  placed  at  the  front  and  filled  with  earth,  to  strengthen 
the  parapet  or  top  the  breastworks  at  exposed  places. 

Observations  had  been  taken  by  Captain  Blanchard  of 
the  covered  way  leading  to  the  locality  of  the  mine,  and  it 
was  the  intention  that  our  men  should  work  all  night  of 
the  twenty-ninth,  placing  gabions  in  position.  Companies 
A,  B  and  K  were  detailed  in  the  afternoon  to  get  out 
stakes  to  pin  the  gabions  in  place.  In  the  evening, 
however,  orders  were  received  to  pack  knapsacks  and  be 
ready  to  fall  in  with  haversacks  and  canteens,  guns,  equip 
ments,  intrenching  tools  and  extra  ammunition.  It  was 
whispered  that  the  mine  was  to  be  blown  up,  and  that  we 
should  take  some  part  in  the  general  movement,  but  we 
did  not  anticipate  any  important  share,  as  no  special  in 
structions  were  given  us ;  in  fact,  when  we  were  leaving 
tcamp,  so  little  information  had  been  given  to  Captain 
Blanchard,  commanding  the  regiment,  that  he  expressed 
doubt  whether  we  should  get  in  at  all.  There  were  but  six 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  266 

officers  accompanying  the  regiment,  including  Blanchard. 
Lieutenant  Berry  remarked  to  the  men  of  his  company,  G, 
that  they  should  have  an  officer  present  to  lead  them  that 
day,  if  he  knew  himself. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  thirtieth,  the 
regiment  had  assembled,  leaving  knapsacks  in  camp  and 
carrying  tools,  and  joined  the  brigade  outside  the  woods 
near  camp.  From  thence  the  column  moved  very  slowly 
and  silently  to  the  left,  along  the  rear  of  Fort  Morton  to 
the  widest  covered  way,  and,  through  it,  forward  to  the 
Norfolk  Railroad  cut  and  the  extreme  front  of  General 
Potter's  lines,  a  locality  with  which  we  were  little  ac 
quainted.  A  brook  ran  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  valley 
from  which  the  land  rose  front  and  rear.  Behind  us  was 
Fort  Morton;  in  front  were  our  advance  breastworks; 
before  them,  a  gradually  rising  hill  upon  which  was  the 
enemy's  fort  to  be  blown  up.  We  followed  in  rear  of  the 
First  Division,  the  provisional  brigade,  composed  mostly 
of  regiments  of  heavy  artillery  which  had  joined  after  the 
Wilderness,  taking  the  position  at  the  head  and  nearest  the 
enemy.  The  night  was  not  very  dark,  a  waning  moon 
hung  phantom-like  in  the  north-east,  over  our  pine  woods. 
The  column  was  closely  massed  in  regimental  lines  of 
battle,  but  without  noise,  fearing  to  alarm  the  enemy,  whose 
sharpshooters  were  alert  and  kept  up  the  usual  dropping 
fire,  a  bullet  now  and  then  falling  near  the  regiment.  We 
saw  no  other  troops  save  our  own  division,  and  not  a  word 
was  said  in  explanation  of  the  intended  movement  or  the 
work  to  be  accomplished.  We  were  formed  for  an  assault, 
that  was  all  we  knew. 

After  awhile  a  report  came  that  the  affair  was  a  failure, 
the  fuses  had  been  fired,  but  were  damp  and  had  gone  out. 
It  was  getting  to  be  daylight  fast,  about  five  o'clock,  and  the 
sky  was  ruddy  with  the  dawn.  In  this  position  of  affairs, 


267  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

suddenly  and  unexpectedly  the  ground  was  felt  to  tremble 
beneath  our  feet,  a  mysterious  rumbling  was  heard,  and 
before  us,  where  the  morning  light  was  revealing  the  Con 
federate  fort,  there  rose  high  into  the  air  an  immense 
column  of  earth  mingled  with  parts  of  artillery  carriages, 
bodies  of  men,  and  other  wreck,  the  red  explosions  of  the 
burning  powder  still  glowing  in  the  mass.  Clouds  of  thick 
smoke  and  dust  rolled  from  the  summit,  presenting  an 
appearance  as  if  the  earth  thrown  up  would  spread  out  and 
partially  cover  our  front  line;  it  did  not,  however,  its 
material  was  too  heavy,  but  sank  down  into  the  form  of  an 
immense  ant-hill  with  the  crater  in  the  centre,  some  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  long  by  sixty  wide  and  twenty-five 
feet  deep,  the  interior  rough  with  boulders  of  clay.  Awe 
struck  and  astounded  our  front  lines  recoiled  involuntarily, 
human  nature  was  unbalanced  by  the  terrible  spectacle, 
but  it  was  only  momentarily,  then,  recovering  presence  of 
mind,  the  men  raised  a  cheer  and  charged  forward  over 
our  lines,  across  the  interval  and  into  the  still  smoking 
crater.  At  the  same  instant  our  artillery  of  eighteen  siege 
guns,  eighteen  large  mortars,  twenty-eight  coehorns,  and 
eighty  field  pieces,  opened  all  along  the  front,  the  passing 
missiles  sounding  like  railroad  trains  above  our  heads  and 
apparently  exploding  in  the  very  works  we  were  assaulting. 
As  seen  from  our  position  in  rear,  it  was  a  grand  sight  as 
the  heavy  column  of  men  went  up  over  our  parapet, 
recalling  the  assaults  into  the  deadly  breach  so  famous  in 
history. 

As  soon  as  the  last  regiment  was  out  of  the  works,  the 
Thirty-Fifth  moved  up  to  the  front  in  battalion  line.  The 
rear  of  the  parapet  had  been  levelled  up  so  that  the  right 
and  centre  of  the  regiment  had  free  passage  out ;  the  two 
left  companies  were  cut  off  by  a  traverse  and  Captain 
Blanchard  sent  his  adjutant  to  have  them  right  face  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  268 

file  left  in  rear  of  the  regiment.  While  this  was  doing, 
General  Ledlie,  who  stood  on  our  left  close  to  the  front 
line,  gave  the  captain  some  orders,  which,  unfortunately, 
no  other  officer  heard.  Immediately  the  regiment  went 
forward  over  our  works  and  up  across  the  open  field,  some 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  yards,  to  the  crater.  As  we 
moved  across  this  clear  space  there  was  time  to  look  about 
a  bit.  Overhead  hung  the  cloud  of  dust  and  smoke,  now 
orange  red  in  the  first  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  On  the  right 
the  ground  sank  away  into  a  deep  ravine,  across  which  the 
opposing  forces  could  be  seen  exchanging  shots.  On  the 
left,  the  whole  more  level  tract  lay  open  far  to  the  south, 
crossed  and  recrossed  by  the  discharge  of  guns  from  either 
side.  No  other  troops  seemed  in  motion,  or  in  position 
to  move ;  on  the  contrary,  right  and  left,  the  battle  seemed 
an  artillery  duel  only,  instead  of  the  sweeping  assault 
which  would  imply  a  grand  attack ;  the  inference  was  that 
our  division  was  the  only  force  engaged ;  such  hasty  judg 
ments  often  affect  results.  It  was  not  until  after  the  fight 
that  we  learned  that  others  beside  the  colored  troops  and 
ours  were  in  the  assault  —  the  other  divisions  went  up  in 
the  hollows  to  the  right  and  left. 

Captain  Blanchard,  in  writing  of  the  affair  a  few  weeks 
after,  says  :  "  It  being  intended  to  carry  the  works  and 
heights,  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  to  follow  closely  our  brigade, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  works  were  carried,  to  throw  up  breast 
works.  We  reached  and  carried  the  enemy's  first  line  and 
the  regiment  with  their  tools  soon  changed  its  face  to  the 
rear.  Having  given  my  orders  and  the  men  well  at  work, 
I  was  hit  in  the  left  shoulder,  so  disabling  me  that  I  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  field."  Others  say  that  the  regiment 
had  not  commenced  work  when  the  captain  was  wounded, 
but  was  waiting  at  the  crater  for  his  directions.  The  ad 
jutant  says  that  from  the  right  of  the  battalion  he  saw 


269  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Captain  Blanchard  looking  about,  examining  the  works,  or 
looking  for  him,  as  he  has  since  thought,  when  the  above- 
mentioned  wound  was  received  ;  that  First  Sergeant  Moses 
Bartlett  of  Company  B  sprang  forward  to  support  the 
captain  and  was  shot  dead ;  that  the  order  had  probably 
been  given  to  turn  the  works,  for,  at  the  same  instant,  the 
men  advanced  and  went  to  work  energetically  upon  the 
face  of  the  crater  nearest  our  lines.  The  incident  occupied 
but  a  moment.  The  adjutant  then  inquired  for  the  next 
senior  officer,  Lieutenant  Hatch,  and  was  told  that  he  had 
been  shot  across  both  legs,  while  coming  over  our  works, 
and  been  taken  to  the  rear.  He  then  asked  for  the  next 
senior,  Lieutenant  Berry,  and  was  informed  that  Berry 
had  fallen  dead  within  a  rod  from  our  lines.  Thus  three 
out  of  the  six  officers  were  gone  in  the  first  fifteen  minutes 
after  the  blow-up.  The  three  juniors  came  together  and 
consulted  upon  what  was  to  be  done. 

In  front  was  the  immense  mound  of  the  crater,  of  gentle 
slope  perhaps  fifteen  feet  high,  formed  of  loose  earth,  in 
which  were  half-buried  bodies  of  dead  Confederates,  broken 
gun  carriages,  tools  and  platform  timbers  in  great  confusion. 
Within  the  crater  our  troops  were  cheering  loudly  and  cel 
ebrating  the  success  of  their  assault,  but  making  no  motion 
in  a  body  to  secure  the  ridge  of  the  hill.  Our  officers, 
therefore,  hastily  decided  to  keep  the  men  at  the  work 
they  were  upon,  turn  the  face  of  the  line  secured  and 
connect  it  with  our  intrenchments.  Lieutenant  A.  J. 
White  took  charge  of  the  left  of  the  regiment,  Lieutenant 
Farrington  the  centre,  and  Acting  Adjutant  Cobb  the  right, 
and  superintended  the  labors  of  the  men. 

At  first  there  was  little  firing  from  the  enemy,  only  a  few 
sharpshooters  to  right  and  left,  whose  aim,  however,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  with  deadly  accuracy.  In  a  few  minutes 
a  gun  on  the  left  opened  from  a  position  where  our  artillery 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  270 

could  not  silence  it,  and  a  detail  of  men  was  made  to  occupy 
the  crest  of  the  crater  and  try  to  keep  down  its  fire,  which 
enfiladed  the  line.  Squads  of  Confederate  prisoners  came 
to  the  rear,  with  many  of  our  wounded,  some  of  the  latter 
lying  down  under  cover  of  the  excavation  we  were  making. 
Our  wounded  were  sent  off  the  field,  and  Lieutenant  Far-' 
rington,  by  advice  of  the  other  officers,  went  back  also,  to 
collect  the  men  who  had  gone  to  help  the  disabled,  get 
orders,  and,  if  approved,  commence  a  narrow  trench,  or 
sap,  from  our  lines  towards  the  crater,  to  connect  with  one 
which  we  now  had  a  few  men  engaged  upon. 

Thus  the  first  half  hour,  while  the  enemy  were  confused 
by  the  surprise,  and  when  alone  success  was  possible, 
slipped  away;  the  Confederates  concentrated  infantry  and 
artillery  around  the  crater,  which  at  once  became  a  death 
trap  to  those  who  were  in  it.  Staff  officers,  among  them 
Captain  Hudson,  came  from  our  lines  with  orders  to  "'push 
forward  to  the  crest  of  the  hill  in  front,"  but  as  it  seemed 
useless  to  try  to  get  through  the  mass  of  men  in  the  crater 
we  kept  on  digging,  expecting  that  when  the  orders  reached 
the  head  of  the  column  the  whole  would  go  forward  to 
gether,  if  possible ;  but  the  troops  did  not  move,  and  we 
supposed  there  was  some  obstacle  in  the  way. 

The  enemy's  fire  from  right  and  left  grew  more  deadly; 
wounded  men  crowded  upon  us ;  as  fast  as  our  men  opened 
the  bank  these  poor  fellows  crept  into  it,  some  refusing  to 
budge  even  when  partially  covered  with  earth,  and  our 
officers  would  say,  "  Bury  them  if  they  wont  move ! " 
Some  stragglers  came  with  -them,  and  more  white  troops 
moved  up  to  mingle  with  the  crowd  in  the  crater  and  add 
to  the  confusion.  After  awhile  the  excitement  and  severity 
of  their  exertions  exhausted  our  men,  and  they  stopped 
for  rest.  At  this  time  the  head  of  the  column  of  the 
Fourth  Division  (colored)  was  seen  coming  over  our 


271  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

intrenchments.  They  were  gallantly  led  by  their  officers, 
Colonel  Sigfried's  brigade,  upon  whose  staff  we  saw  Adju 
tant  Washburn,  charging  forward  upon  our  left  into  the 
crater.  What  they  could  do  now  it  was  not  easy  to  see, 
but  they  came  up  as  spiritedly  as  could  be  wished,  yet 
stringing  out  by  the  flank.  Their  color  bearers,  fine  mus 
cular  fellows,  some  of  them  stripped  to  the  waist,  shouted 
and  displayed  their  flags  most  manfully,  but,  alas,  most 
vainly  —  it  was  too  late  ! 

After  they  had  passed  "to  the  front  their  appearance 
seemed  to  add  greater  fury  to  the  enemy,  and  the  carnage 
became  terrible  past  description.  Wounded  and  stragglers 
accumulated  so  that  no  more  work  could  be  done,  except 
that  the  sap  to  the  rear  was  continued,  but  the  soil  was  so 
hard  baked  it  could  with  difficulty  be  broken  by  the  pick 
axe.  All  were  more  or  less  disabled  for  labor  by  nervous 
prostration,  after  their  violent  exertions  at  first  and  by  the 
scenes  of  horror  about  them.  We  supposed  that  the  as 
sault  upon  the  second  line  had  failed,  but  that  the  position 
secured  would  be  held  till  night,  when,  in  the  darkness,  it 
could  be  connected  and  made  part  of  our  intrenchments. 
The  scene  grew,  if  possible,  more  terrible  as  the  cross  fire 
of  the  Confederate  artillery  and  mortars  was  concentrated 
upon  the  crater  and  the  space  between  it  and  our  lines. 
Spherical  case  shot  burst  continually  over  and  among  the 
crowd  of  wounded  and  stragglers,  who  would  send  up 
groans  of  agony.  Our  boys  did  what  they  could  to  help 
the  disabled,  and  declared  that  they  had  not  been  under 
such  a  hot  fire  since  Antietam  ;  in  fact,  few  expected  to 
survive  until  night  or  get  back  to  our  lines,  so  completely 
was  the  space  swept  by  the  shower  of  missiles. 

About  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  colored  division, 
with  some  white  troops,  broke  and  came  to  the  rear,  many 
of  the  men  retiring  slowly  and,  apparently,  reluctantly ; 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  272 

but  they  were  so  confused  that  there  was  no  command 
over  them.  Lieutenant  White  dashed  among  them,  waving 
his  sword  and  shouting,  "  Rally !  Rally ! "  but  the  adjutant 
suggested  to  him  that  it  would  be  better  to  let  them  go  to 
the  rear  and  clear  the  field,  and  White  desisted,  having 
received  a  flesh  wound  in  the  shoulder  in  the  melee. 
After  this,  it  had  become  so  evident  that  nothing  more 
could  be  done  by  daylight,  while  exposed  to  such  a  mur 
derous  fire,  it  was  decided  to  take  what  remained  of  the 
regiment  back  to  our  intrenchments.  Word  was  passed 
among  the  men  to  retire  in  small  parties  so  as  to  attract 
no  special  attention  from  the  enemy,  which  was  obeyed  as 
opportunity  offered,  a  few  not  getting  off  until  afternoon, 
but  all  bringing  their  guns  and  tools  with  them  ;  only  two 
or  three,  too  severely  wounded  to  be  hastily  moved,  pre 
ferred  to  take  their  chances  of  getting  off  quietly  at  night, 
and  so  remained  to  be  taken  prisoners.  In  this  way,  by 
running  the  gauntlet,  most  of  the  men  got  back  within  our 
lines  by  eleven  o'clock. 

There  they  found  the  rest  of  the  regiment  drawn  up 
under  Lieutenant  Farrington,  and,  by  direction  of  Captain 
Hudson,  details  were  sent  back  through  the  narrow  covered 
way  under  the  railroad  to  bring  up  ammunition.  It  was 
noticeable  that  even  in  this  work  strong  men  were  still  so 
nervously  affected  as  to  be  physically  unable  to  lift  between 
them  the  boxes,  each  containing  one  thousand  cartridges, 
and  the  boxes  had  to  be  broken  open  and  the  packages 
carried  te  the  front  in  shelter  tents,  as  many  as  each  man 
could  lug.  Going  to  the  rear  for  this  purpose,  we  passed  part 
of  the  Eighteenth  Corps  moving  up  with  difficulty  through 
the  narrow  passage.  We  told  them  that  the  affair  was 
ended.  Shortly  after  noon  the  regiment  was  marched 
back  to  camp  under  Lieutenant  Farrington,  and  Captain 
Ingell  took  command. 


273  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  order  to  retire  the  troops  was  issued  by  General 
Meade  about  nine  o'clock,  and  by  General  Burnside 
between  eleven  and  twelve.  All  who  could,  or  who  pre 
ferred  risking  death  rather  than  Libby  Prison,  escaped  as 
we  had  done  in  small  parties;  but  some  nine  hundred  men 
and  seventy-five  officers  were  captured,  with  General  Bart- 
lett,  who,  wearing  an  artificial  leg  which  had  been  crushed 
in  the  action,  could  not  escape  if  he  would.  Our  adjutant, 
Washburn,  was  taken  prisoner  with  others  of  the  brigade 
staff,  and  suffered  semi-starvation  within  the  Confederacy 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  The  total  loss  of  the  army  was 
placed  at  4,400;  of  this,  the  Ninth  Corps  had  3,828  in 
killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  General  Humphreys  puts 
the  total  at  3,500. 

The  loss  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  had  been :  one  officer  and 
eleven  men  killed  or  died  of  wounds,  and  some  thirty-four 
others  wounded,  out  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  pres 
ent  for  duty.  The  names  of  the  fallen  were :  Lieutenant 
Samuel  K.  Berry;  First  Sergeant  Moses  C.  Bartlett,  of 
Company  B ;  Sergeant  Robert  C.  Davidson,  of  Company 
C  ;  John  H.  Gill  and  Cornelius  Kalaher,  of  Company  E ; 
Solomon  Richardson,  of  Company  F ;  Patrick  Grealish, 
of  Company  G ;  Sergeant  John  Q.  Hunt  and  Corporal 
Leonard  Pratt,  of  Company  H ;  Michael  Colbert  and 
Perez  F.  Fearing,  of  Company  I ;  George  A.  Greenwood, 
of  Company  K.  How  much  of  grief  and  severed  friend 
ship  this  list  expresses  to  those  who  remember  them  well ! 
Lieutenant  Berry  was  the  darling  of  the  regiment.  His 
youthful  figure  and  earnest  face,  lighted  by  those  dark 
eyes  aflame  with  the  fire  of  battle,  his  long  black  hair  and 
waving  sword,  as  he  led  Company  G  over  our  intrench- 
ments,  will  never  be  forgotten.  The  words  of  Lowell 
seem  written  for  him  :  — 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  274 

1  Brave,  good  and  true, 

I  see  him  stand  before  me  now, 
And  read  again  on  that  young  brow 

Where  every  hope  was  new, 

Ifow  sweet  were  life  !     Yet,  by  the  mouth  firm  set 
And  look  made  up  for  Duty's  utmost  debt, 

I  could  divine  he  knew 

That  death  within  the  sulphurous  hostile  lines, 
In  the  mere  wreck  of  nobly-pitched  designs, 

Plucks  heart's  ease  and  not  rue. 


Right  in  the  van, 

On  the  red  rampart's  slippery  swell, 

With  heart  that  beat  a  charge,  he  fell 
Foeward,  as  fits  a  man." 

Ah,  that  was  a  terrible  day,  and  as  exasperating  as  ter 
rible  !  Would  that  it  and  its  horrible  scenes  were  buried 
in  oblivion  to  haunt  our  dreams  no  more ! 

At  evening,  visiting  the  wounded  'at  the  field  hospital, 
where  Doctors  Snow  and  Roche  and  the  other  surgeons 
were  worn  out  with  the  severity  of  their  labors,  where  the 
bodies  of  the  men  who  had  died  under  the  surgeon's  knife 
still  lay  undisturbed  and  ghastly  upon  the  tables,  it  was 
pleasant  to  find  Captain  Blanchard,  Lieutenant  Hatch  and 
the  other  wounded  comfortably  stretched  upon  white  bed 
spreads  under  snowy  tent  cloth,  discussing,  under  clouds 
of  smoke  from  their  pipes,  the  events  of  the  day. 

The  causes  of  the  failure  were  pretty  evenly  divided  — 
there  was  a  bad  place  chosen  for  the  assault,  bad  or  inju 
dicious  generalship  and  overtasked  troops. 

Of  the  position  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  charge  was 
made  into  a  reentering  angle,  or  into  the  mouth  of  a  pocket, 
the  sides  representing  the  enemy's  undisturbed  lines;  the 
further  the  column  advanced  the  more  subject  it  became 
to  cross  fire.  This  difficulty  had  been  pointed  out  before- 


275  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

hand  to  General  Meade,  and  he  was  opposed  to  the  assault, 
from  his  own  observations  and  the  following  letter : 

' i  HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC, 

"OFFICE  OF  CHIEF  ENGINEER,  July  24,  1864. 
"  General,  —  In  reply  to  your  communication  of  this 
date,  I  have  the  honor  to  say  that  the  line  of  the  enemy's 
works  in  front  of  General  Burnsicle  is  not  situated  on  the 
crest  of  the  ridge  separating  us  from  Petersburg  —  that 
the  enemy  have  undoubtedly  occupied  the  ridge  as  a  sec 
ond  line.  Should  General  Burnsicle  succeed  in  exploding 
his  mine  he  would  probably  be  able  to  take  the  enemy's 
first  line,  which  is  about  one  hundred  yards  in  advance  of 
his  approach.  Beyond  this  I  do  not  think  he  could  advance 
until  the  works  in  front  of  the  Fifth  Corps  are  carried,  as 
the  Ninth  Corps  columns  would  be  taken  in  flank  by  a 
heavy  artillery  fire  from  works  in  front  of  the  centre  of  the 
Fifth  Corps,  and  in  front  from  the  works  on  the  crest  near 
Cemetery  Hill.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  works  in  front 
of  the  Fifth  Corps  can  be  carried  until  our  lines  can  be 
extended  to  the  left  so  as  to  envelope  the  enemy's  line. 
"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"J.  C.   DUANE,  Major  of  Engineers. 
"MAJOR-GENERAL  MEADE." 

The  ridge  referred  to  in  the  above  was  not  then  actually 
occupied,  but  the  delay  of  our  advance  enabled  the  enemy 
to  seize  and  use  it  in  the  way  mentioned  during  the  action. 
It  was  hoped  that  the  explosion  would  so  shake  the  enemy 
as  to  frighten  them  from  their  lines ;  they  did  vacate  near 
the  crater,  but  the  flank  fire  was  still  severe  as  evinced  by 
the  above  losses  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  in  getting  out  of  our 
works.  It  was  known  to  the  generals,  but  not  to  the  men 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  276 

in  the  column,  that  the  Petersburg  lines  were  held  by  a 
weaker  Confederate  force  than  usual ;  a  little  instruction 
on  that  point  would  have  been  encouraging.  Something 
was  said,  at  the  moment  of  the  blow-up,  about  some  of  the 
loaded  chambers  not  having  exploded;  if  the  men  had 
been  forewarned  of  this  danger  they  would  have  kept  out 
of  the  crater,  and  the  confusion  would  have  been  avoided 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

As  for  the  subordinate  generals  nothing  need  be  said ; 
they  were  condemned  by  a  court  of  inquiry.  And  not  a 
little  blame  rests  with  the  superior  officers  of  the  army  for 
interfering  at  the  last  moment  with  the  plans  of  General 
Burnside,  substituting  for  the  troops  he  had  chosen  and 
drilled  for  the  assault  others  who  were  neither  in  proper 
spirit  nor  fully  informed  for  the  work.  General  Grant's 
words  upon  this  point  are :  "  General  Burnside  wanted  to 
put  his  colored  troops  in  advance,  and  I  believe  if  he  had 
done  so  it  would  have  been  a  success."  For  a  coup-de- 
main,  fresh  troops,  who  have  been  little  under  fire,  are 
sometimes  to  be  preferred  to  older  soldiers  whose  expe 
rience  of  such  attacks  has  been  unfortunate. 

Of  the  troops,  no  one  who  has  followed  this  story  thus 
far  can  hesitate  to  believe  that  the  men  were  worn  out ; 
still  capable  of  great  endurance,  but  retaining  little  of  the 
"devilment"  which  springs  forward  to  an  assault  as  to  a 
marriage  feast.  They  would  have  followed  able  leaders, 
but  these  failed  them.  It  was  well  known  that  the  men 
of  the  heavy  artillery  regiments  and  dismounted  cavalry 
were  dissatisfied  upon  being  taken  from  the  employment 
proper  to  their  branches  of  the  service  and  used  as  infantry 
in  such  work  as  this ;  they  had  not  enlisted  for  it.  Yet 
these  men  were  placed  in  the  front  of  the  column,  and  no 
one  had  a  right  to  be  disappointed  if  they  proved  a  "  for 
lorn  hope  "  indeed.  It  was  easy  to  foresee  that  there  would 


277  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

be  confusion  and  disorder  —  there  always  is  after  a  charge 
—  yet  no  pains  were  taken  to  inform  each  individual  man 
of  the  plan  of  attack,  and  that  success  would  depend  upon 
the  work  of  the  first  fifteen  minutes.  It  was  a  well  estab 
lished  custom  in  the  army  that  the  troops  carrying  a  line 
of  works  should  reform  and  hold  the  captured  line,  while 
fresh  and  unbroken  battalions  should  come  up  in  their 
rear,  pass  over  and  assault  any  second  line;  this  rule  was 
to  be  disregarded  in  this  plan,  and  the  men  who  secured 
the  first  were  to  keep  on,  necessarily  in  disorder,  and  occupy 
interior  positions. 

The  final  preparations  were  too  hurried.  In  view  of  our 
regiment's  part  in  it  and  lack  of  special  orders  it  is  amus 
ing  to  read  the  following  evidence  of  Lieutenant  Beauyard, 
U.  S.  Engineers,  before  the  Board  of  Inquiry.  He  says  : 
"  I  was  sent  by  Major  Duane  to  report  to  General  Burn- 
side  for  duty  as  an  engineer."  Question.  "Were  there 
working  parties  for  the  assaulting  columns  and  engineer 
officers  to  lead  them  ?  "  A?iswer.  "  Not  that  I  know  of." 
Quest.  "  No  arrangement  had  been  made  with  you  by  Gen 
eral  Burnside  for  anything  of  that  sort  ? "  A/is.  "  No, 
sir ;  not  previous  to  the  assault."  Quest.  "  Had  you 
been  placed  in  charge  of  a  proper  working  party,  suitably 
equipped,  could  you  not,  immediately  after  the  explosion 
of  the  mine,  have  levelled  the  enemy's  parapets,  so  as  to 
allow  troops  in  line  of  battle  to  have  passed  through  ? " 
Ans.  "  I  think  I  could.  When  the  enemy  afterwards  had 
a  flank  fire  between  the  enemy's  lines  and  ours,  I  offered 
General  Burnside  to  run  a  covered  way  from  our  line  to 
the  enemy's  line  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  crater." 
Quest.  "  Would  any  advantage  have  ensued  from  simply 
holding  the  crater  without  advancing  further  ? "  Ans. 
"  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  think  so."  Quest.  "  Were  there  any 
preparations  made  in  the  way  of  collecting  gabions  and  so 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  278 

forth,  so  that  if  the  troops  had  been  successful  we  could 
have  crowned  the  crest  ? "  Ans.  "  No,  sir ;  not  that  I 
know  of.'7  Quest.  "  Were  tools  collected  or  used  —  picks, 
shovels,  axes,  etc.  ?  "  Ans.  "  I  did  not  see  any." 

Had  such  a  general  as  Reno  or  St.  Clair  Morton  been 
present,  bad  though  the  position  and  the  spirit  of  the 
troops,  the  crest  of  Cemetery  Hill  might  have  been 
gained,  but  could  it  have  been  held? — when  we  remember 
the  slowness  of  the  generals  in  supporting  each  other,  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  and  the  impossibility  of  crossing  the 
artillery,  it  may  be  doubtful.  Perhaps  the  wretched  affair 
ended  for  the  best  after  all,  and  it  was  well  that  the  death- 
hug  of  Grant  upon  Lee  should  continue  until  the  active 
Sheridan  arrived  to  close  the  rear. 

If  our  regiment  was  to  have  part  in  the  assault  as  engi 
neers,  it  would  seem  that  the  proper  place  for  us  was  near 
the  head  of  the  column  rather  than  in  the  rear.  Bat, 
strangely  enough,  it  appears  not  to  have  been  General 
Burnside's  intention  that  the  Thirty-Fifth  should  take  part 
in  the  charge ;  the  other  engineer  regiments  did  not.  One 
of  our  musicians,  writing  from  the  field  hospital  of  the 
•First  Division,  August  5,  1864,  relates  the  following: 
"General  Burnside  visited  the  hospital,  yesterda}^  and 
went  through  the  different  wards,  in  which  were  a  number 
of  our  wounded.  As  he  came  to  Sergeant  Davidson  of 
Company  C,  leg  amputated  (mortal),  he  asked  him  what 
regiment  he  belonged  to.  The  sergeant  replied,  '  The 
Thirty-Fifth.'  The  general  said,  *  Were  they  in  the  fight  ? ' 
and  asked,  '  Who  ordered  them  to  go  in  ? '  He  said  he 
gave  no  orders  for  the  Thirty-Fifth  to  go  in  for  they  were 
engineers,  but  he  would  inquire  into  it."  The  writer  adds, 
"Captain  Ingell  commands  the  regiment  and  the  boys  are 
in  the  best  of  spirits,  ready  and  willing  to  shovel  or  fight.''' 
But  the  story  that  the  regiment  was  put  in  without  orders 


279  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

spread  among  the  men,  and  they  blamed  their  officers  for 
suffering  the  imposition. 

The  only  ones  who  came  out  of  the  affair  with  unques 
tioned  glory  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pleasants  and  the 
two  others,  Lieutenant  Jacob  Douty  and  Sergeant  Henry 
Rees,  who  volunteered  to  relight  the  fuse,  and  the  Forty- 
Eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment.  But  there  were  other 
instances  of  noble  conduct  by  individuals,  which  this  is 
not  the  place  for  recording. 

Next  day  an  armistice  was  requested  of  the  Confederate 
commander,  but  denied.  The  regiment  fell  in  to  bury  the 
dead,  but,  upon  reception  of  the  above  news,  was  dis 
missed.  Captain  Ingell  and  several  others  visited  our 
'front  and  Fort  Morton,  from  which  by  the  aid  of  a  glass 
our  wounded  lying  between  the  lines  could  be  seen ;  they 
were  under  fire  from  the  Confederates  and  could  not  be 
reached.  They  had  sticks  with  rags  upon  the  end,  which 
they  waved  as  signals  and  as  fans  to  drive  away  the  swarms 
of  flies.  The  rays  of  the  sun  poured  down  upon  them  with 
broiling  heat,  and  their  situation,  having  lain  there  now 
twenty-four  hours,  was  heart-rending  to  witness' — how  much 
more  horrible  to  endure  !  At  last  several  surgeons  were 
allowed  to  go  upon  the  field  and  distribute  water  and 
stimulants. 

It  was  not  until  the  following  day  (August  i)  that  the 
flag  of  truce  was  answered  favorably  and  an  armistice 
declared  from  five  to  nine  in  the  morning.  The  Thirty- 
Fifth  went  upon  the  field  about  six  o'clock  and  engaged 
in-  the  burial  of  the  dead.  It  was  a  scene  long  to  be 
remembered  with  loathing.  The  soldiers  of  the  two  armies 
stood  up  in  the  opposing  lines,  arms  laid  aside,  and  curi 
ously  examined  each  other;  the  Confederates,  in  their 
earth-colored  brown,  hardly  distinguishable  from  the  soil 
upon  which  they  stood ;  our  men  in  blue,  strikingly  con- 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  280 

trasted  in  appearance  and  equipment.  Half  way  to  the 
crater  were  the  flags  of  truce  —  Generals  Potter,  Ferrero 
and  others  upon  our  side,  General  Johnson  upon  the 
other;  they  conversed  amicably  about  the  situation.  The 
Thirty-Fifth,  aided  by  one  of  the  regiments  from  the 
Fourth  Division  and  other  troops,  dug  long  trenches,  while 
search  was  made  upon  the  bodies  of  the  dead  for  marks 
of  identification.  If  the  name  was  discovered  it  was 
written  upon  paper,  and  pinned  upon  the  breast  of  the 
corpse.  The  bodies  were  then  taken  to  the  trench,  the 
names  copied  off,  the  remains  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  if  one 
were  at  hand,  and  hastily  covered  with  earth.  Some  three 
hundred  were  thus  buried,  a  large  portion  of  them  colored 
men.  The  scorching  heat  of  the  sun  had  so  hastened 
decomposition  that  the  faces  of  all  were  black  and  shriv 
elled  ;  a  white  man  could  be  distinguished  only  by  his 
hair,  or  by  turning  down  his  clothing.  Wherever  a  limb 
had  been  shot  off,  or  a  skull  broken  down,  or  in  the  hollows 
of  the  eyes,  the  flies  had  alighted,  and  now  amid  the  fester 
ing  flesh  the  maggots  revelled,  moving  over  and  over.  The 
stench  was  sickening,  and  so  penetrated  the  clothing  and 
,  impressed  the  senses  that  it  remained  in  the  nostrils  for 
days  afterward.  It  was,  for  the  small  space  of  ground 
covered,  the  concentration  of  horrors,  and  the  effects  of 
the  burning  sun,  one  of  the  most  revolting  scenes  of  death 
during  the  war.  Some  four  or  five  only  of  the  wounded 
were  found  alive  after  those  long  hours  of  anguish,  and 
they  were  emaciated  to  skeletons  and  could  hardly  have 
survived. 

The  bodies  of  the  dead  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  were  iden 
tified  by  clothing  or  articles  in  the  pocket,  for  there  was 
scarcely  a  trace  of  resemblance  left,  except  in  case  of 
Lieutenant  Berry,  whose  bonny  black  hair  was  so  distin 
guishing  a  mark.  Tenderly  his  remains  were  wrapped  in 


28 1  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

a  covering  and  laid  to  rest  in  that  field  upon  which  he  had 
fallen  so  heroically. 

Returning  to  camp  the  men  dejectedly  sought  their 
quarters,  feeling  that  the  Old  Ninth  Corps  was  defunct, 
body  and  soul.  It  was  several  days  before  the  men 
engaged  in  this  "needlessly  miserable  affair,"  as  General 
Grant  called  it,  recovered  the  ordinary  tone  of  spirits. 

Details  were  made  to  repair  the  forts,  and  night  work  was 
resumed,  while  days  were  spent  in  trying  to  sleep,  tor 
mented  by  swarms  of  flies  which  now  infested  camp  unen- 
durably.  Gifts  of  fresh  vegetables,  tomatoes  and  cabbages, 
were  received  from  the  Sanitary  Commission,  but  they  had 
been  so  levied  upon  on  their  way  to  the  front  that  when 
they  reached  us  little  was  left  but  the  expression  of  good 
will.  Occasionally,  when  the  lines  were  quiet,  some  black- 
coated  member  of  the  Christian  Commission  passed  along 
the  front  distributing  religious  literature;  but  the  efforts 
of  both  of  these  benevolent  societies  were  principally  con 
fined  to  the  hospitals,  which,  it  was  thought,  they  sometimes 
made  too  attractive  for  the  prompt  return  of  convalescents 
to  their  regiments. 

Captain  Tobey,  writing  from  the  brigade-quartermaster's 
office,  says  of  the  First  Brigade,  which  had  started  with 
such  full  ranks  from  Annapolis  three  months  before:  "The 
brigade,  who  are  all  except  the  Thirty- Fifth  in  the  front 
line  six  days  and  out  one,  are  having  a  hard  time  of  it. 
Some  of  the  regiments  are  losing  from  six  to  ten  men  a 
day;  the  Fifty-Seventh  Massachusetts  is  considered  the 
most  unlucky,  and  most  of  their  officers  have  been  killed 
in  the  trenches  or  during  the  last  fight.  There  is  a  rumor 
afloat  that  the  Ninth  Corps  is  going  to  leave  this  place, 
and,  God  knows,  I  hope  it  is  true,  for  if  they  don't  take 
them  out  soon  there  will  be  no  one  left ! "  So  thought 
old  "Jack"  Tobey,  the  very  sound  of  whose  voice  would 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  282 

"snake"  a  stalled  team  out  of  the  worst  mud  hole  in  all 
Virginia. 

The  siege  went  on  as  before  the  mine  "  scrape,"  as  the 
boys  aptly  termed  it,  putting  a  name  and  a  judgment  upon 
it  in  one  word,  and  the  pickets  and  artillery  weaned  the 
air  with  their  constant  din.  There  were  frequent  alarms 
of  attacks,  but  the  Confederates  never  came  out;  they 
blew  up  part  of  our  intrenchment  in  retaliation,  but  it  was 
immediately  reoccupiecl  by  our  troops,  and  the  "Johnnies" 
could  only  stand  and  laugh  at  their  failure. 

A  new  fort  was  commenced  by  the  regiment,  under 
direction  of  Captain  Hudson  (staff  engineer  officer),  using 
narrow  bandages  for  a  tape  line  to  measure  by ;  so  inad 
equately  provided  with  equipment  for  engineering  were 
the  troops  at  the  front,  while  extravagance  ran  riot  at 
Washington.  Captain  Ingell  was  threatened  with  fever ; 
more  pieces  of  bone  began  to  prick  through  the  flesh  of 
his  arm,  which  had  been  shattered  by  a  bullet  at  Antietam, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  the  field  hospital.  Lieutenant 
White  being  still  upon  the  sick  list  from  his  wound,  Lieu 
tenant  Farrington  commanded  the  regiment. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

WELDON    RAILROAD,    AND    POPLAR    SPRING    CHURCH,   1864. 

ON  the  fourteenth  of  August  our  regiment  was  at  the 
front,  digging,  until  eleven  at  night,  then  received 
orders  to  return  to  camp,  pack  up,  and  be  ready  to  march. 
Moving  out  of  the  pine  grove  —  our  abode  so  long  —  we 
joined  the  brigade  and  marched  about  four  miles  to  the 
left,  leaving  the  thunder  of  the  siege  behind,  and  halted 
in  the  woods,  somewhere  beyond  the  spot  afterwards  called 
Hancock  Station.  At  daylight  the  regiments  were  strung 
along,  at  intervals,  upon  some  old  intrenchments,  relieving 
troops  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  Our  division  was  now  under 
command  of  our  old  friend,  General  Julius  White,  first 
heard  of  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  later  of  the  Twenty-Third 
Corps  and  East  Tennessee  memory ;  the  brigade  was  com 
manded  by  the  gallant  Lieutenant-Colonel  Barnes,  of  the 
Twenty-Ninth  Massachusetts.  Pickets  were  advanced  to 
the  front  in  a  drenching  shower,  and  then,  huts  having 
been  built,  the  boys  had  a  night's  sound  sleep,  out  of 
range  of  Confederate  bullets  for  the  first  time  for  two 
months.  All  were  very  weary,  many  having  had  no  sleep 
for  two  days,  yet  some  waked  to  wonder  at  the  stillness 
of  our  new  location. 

Captain  Ingell,  hearing  of  the  movement  and  anxious 
about  "his  boys,"  left  his  sick  bed  and  joined  us,  after  we 
had  moved  camp  back  beyond  a  swamp  and  repitched  in 
company  streets.  From  this  spot  he  sent  an  interesting 


284  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

letter,  probably  the  last  he  ever  wrote,  concerning  a  new 
danger  which  threatened  the  Thirty-Fifth  ;  he  had  heard 
that  the  regiment  was  to  be  filled  up  with  German  and 
French  substitutes.  He  says :  "  I  have  been  in  hospital 
by  advice  of  Dr.  Snow  for  rest  and  quiet,  to  prevent  a 
fever  with  which  I  was  threatened,  and  my  arm  troubles 
me  at  times.  I  returned  to  the  regiment  last  evening, 
they  having  during  my  absence  moved  about  four  miles  to 
the  extreme  left  of  our  lines,  and  being  now  encamped  in  a 
fine  grove,  doing  picket  duty  with  thirty  men  out,  and  cavalry 
pickets  outside  of  us.  There  are  no  rebels  in  front  of  us, 
and  the  never-ceasing  fire  from  artillery  and  pickets,  to 
which  we  have  been  for  months  subjected,  has  entirely 
ceased,  and  we  can  hardly  sleep,  all  is  so  quiet ;  but  the 
enemy  have  been  moving  to  their  right,  yesterday  and 
during  the  night,  and  we  are  expecting  an  attack  on  this 
line,  and  are  held  in  readiness  to  move  at  any  moment.  I 
have  received  news  of  the  recruits,  German  and  French. 
I  hardly  expected  that  this  regiment  would  go  into  the 
importing  of  German  and  French  goods,  and  cannot  see 
what  use  they  are  to  make  of  them ;  however,  if  they 
come  properly  consigned,  and  with  proper  invoices  and 
descriptive  lists,  with  duties  paid  and  properly  avouched 
for,  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  receive  them ;  if  they  do  not, 
I  shall  tell  them,  in  the  best  German  at  my  command,  to 
go  to  the  devil.  Officers  and  men  are  sorry  these  men  are 
to  come  among  us."  He  ends  with  these  words,  so  touch- 
ingly  pathetic  in  view  of  his  near  future,  "Having  I  believe 
told  you  all  I  think  of  now,  I  await  events."  While  at  the 
hospital  he  had  been  passed  by  the  examining  board  for 
the  Invalid  Reserve  Corps,  on  account  of  his  old  wound ; 
but  he  was  bent  upon  seeing  the  Thirty-Fifth  through  one 
more  fight.  At  this  camp,  Captain  Ingell  appointed  Jesse 
Holmes  quartermaster-sergeant. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  285 

For  several  days  we  had  very  heavy  showers,  which  made 
the  roads  heavy  and  the  fields  soaked  with  moisture.  On 
the  eighteenth  the  Fifth  Corps  moved  to  the  left,  and 
reaching  the  Weldon  Railroad  near  the  Globe  Tavern,  or 
Yellow  House  as  we  called  it,  moved  up  the  railroad 
towards  Petersburg;  but  being  met  in  force  they  intrenched 
themselves  and  held  the  position,  but  with  exposed  flanks. 
The  divisions  of  the  Ninth  Corps  were  ordered  up  to  con 
nect  the  right  of  the  Fifth  with  the  lines  about  Petersburg, 
The  nineteenth  was  a  day  of  drizzle,  the  mud  deep  and 
slippery  in  the  fields.  The  regiment  marched  to  brigade 
headquarters,  and,  as  soon  as  the  troops  were  assembled 
and  pickets  drawn  in,  started,  left  in  front,  with  the  First 
Division,  in  a  south-west  direction,  towards  the  supposed 
right  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  guided  by  the  sound  of  cannon 
ading.  The  Third  Division  preceded,  and  the  Second 
Division  followed  ours. 

After  two  or  three  miles  we  came  out  into  wide  corn 
fields  with  woods  to  the  north-west  and  south-east,  and, 
hearing  musketry,  the  double-quick  step  was  taken,  and  a 
series  of  hurried  but  well  executed  field  movements  ensued. 
We  came  by  flank  into  line  of  battle  and  went  forward  over 
fences  towards  the  western  woods,  the  regiments  keeping 
their  lines  remarkably  well,  then  halted  and  wheeled  about 
in  retreat  a  few  rods,  then  fronting  moved  more  to  the  left 
and  again  forward,  all  in  accordance  with  orders  from 
General  White,  who  appeared  on  horseback  in  front  of  the 
regiment,  waving  his  light  felt  hat  and  calling  upon  the 
men  to  remember  Campbell's  Station  and  Knoxville,  at 
which  the  boys  cheered  vociferously.  It  was  the  most 
inspiriting  scene  for  many  a  day.  Forward  we  went  close 
up  to  the  woods  bordering  the  railroad,  then  again  to  the 
left  and  immediately  back  to  the  right,  just  in  time ;  the 
Confederates  —  Colquitt's  brigade  of  Mahone's  division  — 


286  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

were  coming  through  the  woods  upon  the  charge.  Kneel 
ing  in  the  mud,  the  word  was,  "Fire,  and  give  them 
hell ! "  and  at  it  we  went,  firing  and  loading  as  rapidly 
as  nimble  fingers  could.  The  only  command  of  the 
officers  was,  "  Fire  low,  men,  fire  low  !  "  and  the  carnage 
was  deadly. 

As  soon  as  our  line  of  fire  became  distinct,  the  artillery 
in  rear  opened,  throwing  the  shells  so  closely  to  our  heads 
that  the  boys  asserted  they  cut  the  tops  of  the  corn-stalks. 
A  steady  fire  was  maintained  for  over  half  an  hour,  officers 
taking  the  guns  of  the  wounded  and  adding  their  shots  to 
the  storm  of  bullets,  when  the  enemy  retired  in  confusion, 
leaving  their  dead  and  wounded  and  some  prisoners  who 
came  in  through  our  line  when  the  firing  stopped.  Two 
men  of  one  of  our  companies  carried  thirteen  prisoners  to 
the  rear.  The  woods  were  full  of  their  fallen  men,  and  it 
took  the  whole  of  the  next  morning  to  remove  them.  We 
had  reached  the  ground  in  the  nick  of  time  to  cover  the 
flank  of  the  Third  Division  and  the  Fifth  Corps ;  and  our 
division  and  regiment  never  did  better  or  more  timely 
service  than  upon  that  day.  General  Warren,  command 
ing  the  Fifth  Corps,  recognized  the  service  and  kindly  sent 
his  thanks  to  the  division ;  and  yet  these  were  the  men 
who,  a  few  days  before,  had  failed  at  the  Mine  —  evidently 
leadership  is  everything  in  war. 

But  our  loss  was  cruel.  Of  the  four  officers  with  the 
regiment  in  the  action,  two,  Captain  Ingell  and  Lieutenant 
A.  J.  White,  received  wounds  which  proved  mortal.  Of 
the  enlisted  men  the  killed  or  mortally  wounded  were : 
Sergeant  Albert  G.  Drake,  William  Dunbar  and  James 
Gay,  of  Company  A ;  George  F.  Cossett,  of  Company  C ; 
and  Frank  Williams,  of  Company  K ;  there  were  about 
twenty-five  others  wounded,  and  five  men  taken  prisoners 
from  the  picket  line.  Lieutenant  Farrington  was  on  duty 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  287 

as  brigade  officer  of  the  day ;  Captains  Hudson  and  Me- 
serve  and  Lieutenant  Wright  on  the  division  staff;  so 
that,  at  the  end  of  the  action,  there  were  but  the  two 
junior  lieutenants  and  a  little  over  one  hundred  men  left 
for  duty,  the  smallest  number  during  the  regiment's  term 
of  service.  The  whole  First  Division  numbered  probably 
less  than  one  thousand  men,  so  many  had  been  the  casual 
ties  in  that  sanguinary  campaign. 

Darkness  shut  down  upon  the  scene  almost  before  the 
smoke  had  lifted  through  the  misty  air.  A  renewal  of  the 
attack  was  apprehended,  and  the  line  was  moved  to  the 
left  into  a  bow  in  the  woods,  where,  upon  corn-stalk  beds, 
the  men  got  such  sleep  as  the  care  of  watching  and  the 
dripping  rain  allowed.  During  the  night  all  was  still 
except  the  groans  and  cries  of  the  Confederate  wounded 
in  the  dark  forest,  who  had  to  wait  until  daylight  before 
they  could  be  moved. 

In  the  morning,  after  waiting  some  hours  for  the  attack 
which  did  not  come,  pickets  were  thrown  out,  the  dead 
buried,  the  wounded  sent  to  the  field  hospitals,  and  the 
whole  line  was  drawn  back  to  the  east  side  of  the  open 
field,  and  a  line  of  intrenchments  thrown  up  in  extension 
of  the  right  of  the  Fifth  Corps  and  our  Third  Division. 
Here  some  of  the  men  learned  that  the  other  engineer 
regiments,  as  at  the  "  mine-scrape,"  had  not  been  in  the 
battle,  but  were  engaged  in  the  duties  of  their  detail.  At 
first  this  was  exceedingly  irritating  to  our  officers,  who  felt 
again  accused  of  want  of  care  of  their  men,  and  led  to  a 
remonstrance  being  sent  to  headquarters;  but  the  vexation 
soon  subsided  when  the  other  side  of  the  question  —  the 
absolute  need  of  every  man  of  the  division  at  the  front  — 
was  considered. 

On  the  twenty-first,  the  lines  were  completely  intrenched, 
the  left  of  the  Fifth  Corps  placed  en  echelon  and  the  Ninth 


288  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Corps  extended  north-eastward  towards  Petersburg,  where 
connection  was  made  with  our  fortified  lines,  now  held  by 
the  Tenth  and  Eighteenth  Corps.  The  railroad  track  was 
torn  up,  but  prisoners  said  the  Confederates  would  recover 
the  Weldon  Railroad  if  it  took  every  man  they  had.  They 
came  around  on  the  left  of  the  Fifth  Corps  in  the  morning 
of  that  day,  and  about  noon,  having  posted  their  artillery 
so  as  to  enfilade  our  earthworks,  they  commenced  pitching 
over  round  shot  in  the  most  lively  manner.  The  men  of 
the  Third  Division,  to  our  left,  were  obliged  to  get  over 
on  the  outside  of  their  intrenchments  for  cover.  Had  the 
enemy  thrown  shell  their  bombardment  would  have  been 
murderous  ;  as  it  was,  it  proved  a  game  of  long  bowling 
in  a  style  which  was  quite  amusing  to  the  regiment.  The 
shot  would  strike  the  ground  once,  usually,  before  reaching 
us,  then  rebound,  skim  our  line,  or  rebound  again,  before 
or  behind  us,  sometimes  in  the  midst  of  us.  One  of  the  pecu 
liarities  was  that  the  ball  could  be  seen  before  it  reached 
us,  its  line  of  flight  calculated  with  accuracy,  and  by  step 
ping  forward  or  back  the  missile  avoided,  as  one  would  a 
wild  base-ball  or  foot-ball.  Some  remarkable  dodging  was 
done,  and  more  than  one  roar  of  laughter  rose  at  some 
quick  movement  on  the  part  of  officer  or  man  to  escnpe 
the  cold  iron.  We  had  two  or  three  hit  and  badly  bruised. 
The  Confederates,  having  as  they  supposed  sufficiently 
shaken  our  line,  charged  upon  the  seemingly  exposed  left 
flank  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  got  so  far  forward  as  to  be  them 
selves  flanked  by  the  foremost  lines,  and  were  surrounded 
and  captured  in  large  numbers,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
General  Warren  and  his  men,  who,  in  the  confusion  of  the 
first  occupancy  of  the  place,  had  also  lost  prisoners.  No 
attack  was  made  by  infantry  on  our  front;  the  Thirty-Fifth 
was  never  attacked  in  line  of  battle  behind  earthworks  — 
our  luck  always  was  to  assault,  not  defend,  them.  We 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  289 

built  heavy  traverses  to  meet  a  repetition  of  the  cross 
fire,  should  it  be  with  shell  instead  of  shot,  but  it  never 
came. 

The  Second  Corps  had  gone  further  south  to  Ream's 
Station,  but  was  not  so  successful  in  holding  the  ground. 
Tremendous  uproar  of  battle  came  from  that  direction, 
and  we  were  several  times  drawn  out  to  march  to  their 
assistance,  but  the  general  hesitated  to  weaken  the  lines, 
so  it  was  a  scene  of  pitching  and  repitching  tents  and 
shifting  about  for  a  dav  or  two,  all  within  a  few  hundred 

O  J 

yards,  in  a  thoroughly  uncomfortable  way.  Lieutenant 
Farrington  commanded  the  regiment.  A  noteworthy  event 
of  those  days  was  the  promotion  of  First  Sergeant  Nason 
to  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant,  a  most  efficient  addition  to 
our  list  of  but  three  officers.  The  new  lieutenant  went  on 
duty  at  once  upon  the  picket  line. 

As  soon  as  our  line  of  intrenchment  was  secured  by 
traverses  and  abatis,  we  received  the  usual  orders  to  leave 
it,  August  27,  and  proceeded  nearly  a  mile  to  the  right, 
where  we  relieved  colored  troops  at  the  angle  where  Fort 
Howard  was  subsequently  constructed,  at  that  time  occu 
pied  by  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts  battery.  The  ground 
was  so  moist  that  when  the  heel  was  pressed  into  it  the 
hole  would  fill  with  water  :  raised  beds,  therefore,  became 
the  order  of  the  day,  with  leafy  bowers  overhead.  These 
shelters  extended  along  the  works,  with  a  road  between  for 
the  passage  of  troops.  We  now  faced  northward,  having 
so  far  environed  the  city ;  the  sounds  of  the  siege  guns 
came  from  our  front.  It  was  a  quiet  spot;  the  pickets 
lying  in  the  woods  in  front  were  seldom  disturbed ;  but,  as 
our  angle  was  an  exposed  point,  early  rising  was  required. 
The  men  were  roused  out  before  daylight  and  formed  in 
the  trenches,  where,  after  inspection  and  drill,  to  awaken 
the  sleepy  ones,  arms  were  stacked  until  broad  daylight. 


290  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

The  system  of  detailing  regiments  for  engineer  duty  was 
discontinued  about  the  first  of  September. 

On  the  thirty-first  of  August  Captain  Ingell  died  of  his 
wound  at  the  division  field  hospital.  He  was  visited  before 
his  death  by  several  members  of  the  regiment.  His  trusty 
sword  was  taken  down  and  laid  by  his  side  upon  the  bed, 
to  his  manifest  pleasure.  The  fatal  bullet  had  so  injured 
his  spine  as  to  cause  paralysis  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
body,  but  his  mind  was  as  active,  wit  as  bright,  and  smile 
as  ready  as  ever.  His  talk  was  of  a  return  to  wife  and 
home ;  but  there  was  a  cast  of  sadness  upon  his  face,  an 
appeal  for  sympathy  in  his  eyes,  which  spoke  the  soul's 
consciousness  of  his  end,  and  cannot  be  recalled  without 
a  tear.  "  The  dear  old  boy "  is  the  way  in  which  the 
members  of  the  regiment  speak  of  him. 

Now  a  great  change  took  place  in  the  corps  and  in  the 
regiment.  The  regiments  of  the  First  Division  had  become 
so  reduced  in  numbers  that  the  organization  was  broken 
up,  and  the  troops  composing  it  were  transferred  to  the 
other  divisions.  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  assigned  to  the 
First  Brigade  —  General  Curtin's —  of  the  Second  Division 
—  General  Potter's  —  composed  of  the  Fifty-First  New 
York,  Forty-Fifth  and  Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania,  Fourth 
and  Seventh  Rhode  Island,  and  Twenty-First,  Thirty-Fifth, 
Thirty-Sixth  and  Fifty-Eighth  Massachusetts  regiments ; 
an  excellent  body  of  troops,  of  which  we  were  at  once, 
without  our  own  fault,  rendered  unfit  to  form  part.  The 
breaking  up  of  the  First  Division  returned  to  duty  with 
the  regiment  all  the  detached  officers,  whose  presence  was 
now  made  indispensable  by  the  arrival  of  three  hundred 
and  eighty-five  German  and  French  substitutes.  Captain 
Hudson,  now  promoted  to  major,  took  command,  and 
the  additional  company  officers  were  Captain  Pope  — 
returned  from  recruiting  service  —  Captains  Meserve  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  291 

Tobey,  Lieutenant  Wright  and  a  new  lieutenant,  Mac 
kenzie,  who  came  with  the  recruits  and  could  speak  their 
language. 

The  presence  of  so  many  of  the  officers  encouraged  the 
men,  but  the  inundation  of  foreigners  was  as  objectionable 
to  them  as  Captain  Ingell  had  stated  in  the  letter  quoted 
at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter ;  they  wrote  home  that 
the  Thirty-Fifth  had  "gone  up,"  and  to  direct  letters  in 
future  to  the  "  First  Hamburghers."  They  had  heard  of 
the  Hessians  hired  by  the  British  in  the  Revolution,  but 
had  never  anticipated  being  associated  with  them  as  rep 
resentatives  of  Massachusetts  valor.  Not  that  the  men 
were  not  good  fellows  enough  —  many  of  them  were  fine 
fellows — but  they  could  not  speak  English.  This  prevented 
communication  except  through  an  interpreter  —  any  little 
difficulty  could  only  be  got  over  by  long  round-about  expla 
nations  and  translations,  and  the  bother  was  a  constant 
one.  It  is  very  strange  that  the  Government  accepted 
these  men  for  service  in  an  English-speaking  regiment  at 
the  front,  in  contravention  of  the  paragraph  of  the  army 
regulations  which  requires  in  the  recruit  a  competent 
knowledge  of  English. 

The  recruits  themselves  were  dissatisfied,  claiming  to 
have  been  enlisted  for  manual  labor  and  not  as  soldiers. 
One  of  them  wrote  to  Major  Hudson,  as  follows,  translated 
from  the  German  :  "  I  am  one  of  the  people  brought  from 
Germany  upon  some  kind  of  deceitful  agreement  that  we 
should  all  have  good  wages,  every  man  at  his  own  business. 
When  we  had  arrived  the  police  took  us  and  kept  us  to 
gether  for  soldiers,  and  they  gave  us  one  hundred  dollars  in 
paper  money,  not  worth  thirty  dollars  in  gold,  and  we  hear 
that  we  are  all  volunteers,  and  then  we  hear  afterwards 

that  we  are  substitutes Is  that  what  you  call 

an  oath  when  a  man  in  a  white  coat  and  straw  hat  talks 


292  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

some  words  of  English  which  only  one  man — Kiihler  — 
understands?"  etc. 

The  agreement  referred  to  may  be  found  in  print  in  the 
Government  Diplomatic  Correspondence,  1864,  part  3, 
page  191.  The  words  "soldier"  and  " military  service " 
are  studiously  avoided,  either  to  deceive  the  German  Gov 
ernment  or  the  men  who  signed  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  Surgeon  B.  J.  Jeffries,  an  officer  of 
high  character,  who  spoke  French  and  English,  says  :  "  I 
acted  as  interpreter  for  the  provost-marshal  when  the  men 
were  sworn  into  the  service  both  in  French  and  English. 

By  conversation  with  the  men  I  ascertained 

that  they  came  to  be  soldiers,  although,  as  they  told  me 
themselves,  this  could  not  of  course  be  expressed  in  the 
contract  which  they  all  signed  before  embarking  from 
Europe,  for  fear  of  international  difficulty.  The  men 
knew  that  they  were  making  another  contract  with  the 
United  States  when  they  were  sworn  in,  which  was  in  no 
way  compulsory  and  not  connected  with  the  other." 

Our  lieutenant-colonel,  William  S.  King,  in  a  letter  to 
Governor  Andrew,  explanatory  of  the  matter,  writes : 
"That  in  no  case  was  compulsion  used,  nor  could  any 
single  person  there  doubt  the  purpose  for  which  the  papers 
were  submitted  for  their  signatures.  Our  officers  were  in 
uniform,  the  general  conversation  was  of  their  destination, 
the  very  camp  at  Galloup's  Island  to  which  they  were  to 
be  conveyed  was  in  plain  sight,  and  was  shown  to  them, 
dotted  with  its  white  tents  and  barracks,  and  upon  the 
departure  of  the  first  squad  of  about  one  hundred  for 
camp,  the  others,  thinking  that  they  had  been  rejected  as 
recruits,  broke  out  into  violent  demonstrations  of  disap 
pointment  and  anger,  and  were  only  appeased  by  assuV- 
ances  given  them  that  they,  too,  would  go  to  camp  as  soon 
as  the  formalities  of  enlistment  could  be  completed." 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  293 

It  was  unavoidable  that,  upon  the  cessation  of  enlist 
ments  from  patriotic  motives,  the  usual  mercenary  induce 
ments  of  trade  should  not  be  resorted  to;  the  mistake  was 
in  sending  these  men  directly  to  the  front,  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  picket  line,  where  they,  at  first,  so  far  as  abil 
ity  for  service  was  concerned,  were  simply  of  the  value  of 
a  lot  of  dummies  before  whom  their  officers  were  tongue- 
tied.  They  were  distributed  to  companies  by  Major  Hud 
son,  who  was  of  a  most  friendly  disposition  towards  them, 
and  did  all  he  could  to  smooth  over  the  difficulties  of  the 
situation.  The  recruits,  after  some  murmuring,  accepted 
the  inevitable  and  endeavored,  with  good  success,  to  catch 
the  words  of  command,  and  get  acquainted  with  the  man 
ual  of  arms  and  some  of  the  common  battalion  movements. 
In  the  course  of  the  month  of  September  such  progress 
had  been  made  in  their  education  that  an  observer  would 
hardly  have  suspected  that  the  men  before  him  understood 
no  English  but  the  brief  orders  as  laid  down  in  the  tactics, 
which  had  been  drilled  into  their  memories  by  constant 
repetition.  Our  own  officers  and  men  knew  the  hollowness 
of  appearances,  and  hoped  that  our  first  battle  with  them 
would  be  in  line  or  behind  breastworks,  and  not  where 
complicated  manoeuvres  might  be  required.  As  it  fell 
out,  however,  in  the  next  action  we  got  into  the  worst 
possible  situation  for  troops  so  difficult  to  handle  in 
an  emergency. 

In  other  respects  the  spirit  of  the  regiment  was  excel 
lent.  The  return  of  our  officers,  renewal  of  camp  disci 
pline,  drills  and  parades,  light  picket  duty,  pleasant  camp, 
and  the  news  of  General  Sherman's  victory  at  Atlanta,  all 
combined  to  enliven  and  renew  expectation  of  final  success. 
Quartermaster  Cutter  pitched  his  tent  at  the  front  with  the 
regiment,  and  rations  and  supplies  were  regular  and  suffi 
cient.  In  the  moonlight  evenings  the  bands  played,  and 


294  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

our  new  men,  of  whom  many  were  skilful  singers,  joined 
in  admirable  choruses,  which  made  the  woods  ring  and 
attracted  much  attention  from  the  other  regiments  about 
us.  Our  position  had  been  changed  a  short  distance  to 
the  left  when  newly  brigaded.  The  rough  temporary 
breastworks  were  torn  down  and  a  new  and  handsome 
line  built.  There  was  an  open  space  in  front,  an  old  field ; 
beyond  this  the  forest  trees  had  been  slashed  or  felled, 
their  tops  falling  outward,  making  an  almost  impenetrable 
abatis;  and  beyond  this,  in  the  woods,  lay  our  pickets, 
within  calling  distance  of  our  camp.  Videttes  would  be 
sent  out  occasionally  through  the  forest  to  feel  the  enemy, 
and  the  latter  would  try  our  line  in  the  same  way  to  ascer 
tain  if  any  change  had  o'ccurred ;  but  this  spying  business, 
though  it  occasioned  alarms,  never  amounted  to  anything. 
General  Grant  and  staff  rode  along  the  front,  returning 
after  a  few  hours,  and  were  cheered  uproarously ;  the  men 
still  retained  perfect  confidence  in  his  success,  although 
the  victory  was  so  slow  in  coming.  Daily  brigade  guard- 
mountings  took  place  in  front  of  the  intrenchments,  and 
our  dress-parades  were  performed  there ;  but  the  space 
was  too  limited  for  drills,  which  were  generally  held  in  the 
open  fields  in  rear  of  our  woods,  near  army  headquarters. 
The  first  dress-parade  since  leaving  Bealton  was  held  on 
the  nineteenth  of  September,  and  General  Potter  reviewed 
the  brigade  on  the  twenty-first  of  the  month. 

The  increase  in  rank  and  file  brought  with  it  many  pro 
motions,  mostly  from  among  the  old  members  :  Sergeants 
Patch,  Bent,  Worcester,  J.  N.  Morse  and  Lloyd  received 
commissions  as  first  lieutenants  ;  Sergeants  Hardy,  Calder, 
Alfred  Blanchard,  Jr.,  Von  Echstadt,  Mackenzie,  William 
White,  Riggs,  Angier  and  Ireland  received  second  lieu 
tenancies.  Of  these  Von  Echstadt,  a  new  man,  never 
joined,  and  Mackenzie,  the  interpreter,  soon  left.  The 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  295 

others  were  mustered  as  opportunity  offered,  some  of  them 
not  until  after  a  winter  spent  in  the  Confederate  prison  at 
Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  and  one,  at  least,  on  that  ac 
count  was  never  mustered ;  Sergeant  Charles  A.  Merrill, 
of  Company  H,  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy  in  the 
Fourth  Massachusetts  Heavy  Artillery. 

We  learned  of  the  death,  at  his  home,  of  Lieutenant 
Austin  J.  White  (commissioned  captain  before  he  died),  of 
the  wound  received  at  the  Weldon  Railroad.  Mention 
has  already  been  made  of  his  gallant  deeds  at  Jackson, 
Miss.,  and  in  the  mine  affair.  His  injury  was  not  supposed 
to  be  of  a  mortal  nature,  and  the  news  of  his  death  gave  a 
severe  shock  to  his  many  friends  in  the  regiment.  This 
had  been  a  summer  of  costly  sacrifices,  and  when  we  recall 
the  noble  self-forgetfulness  of  men  like  Captain  White  we 
cannot  but  wonder  at  the  mystery  of  life,  that  such  as  he 
should  die  and  we  yet  live. 

On  Sunday,  the  twenty-fifth  of  September,  another  two- 
handed  movement  was  begun  by  General  Grant.  General 
Butler  marched  out  upon  the  right  at  Deep  Bottom  in 
front  of  Richmond,  and  carried  by  assault  a  part  of  the 
.Confederate  line  at  Chapin's  Bluff.  We  were  to  engage 
in  a  similar  movement  to  our  left  towards  the  Boydton 
plank  road;  this  time  the  Fifth  Corps  to  be  the  pivot  and 
the  Ninth  Corps  to  swing  around  upon  their  left.  At  first 
our  division  marched  ostentatiously  to  the  right  several 
miles,  and  went  into  camp  for  two  days  in  the  woods  in 
rear  of  Fort  Sedgwick,  not  far  from  Hancock  Station. 
This  was  intended  for  a  blind  to  make  Lee  suppose  we 
were  concentrating  in  Butler's  front.  While  waiting,  the 
companies  were  rearranged  and  took  position,  according  to 
rank  of  commanding  officers,  in  battalion  lines  as  follows : 
right  — C,  F,  G,  E,  I,  D,  K,  H,  A,  B  — left.  Up  to  this 
date  Company  B  had  been  color  company  since  we  left 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Lynnfield.     Sergeant  Thomas  Castle  continued  to  be  the 
bearer  of  the  national  color. 

On  the  twenty-eighth  we  all  moved  back  to  the  woods 
near  the  Gurley  House,  behind  the  camp  we  had  lately 
occupied,  and  remained  in  bivouac  concealed  in  the  forest. 
The  weather  was  of  that  sombre  gray  aspect  which  portends 
rain  and  October  gales,  and  pretty  well  typified  the  rather 
grave  feeling  of  some  of  the  old  Thirty-Fifth  at  the  pros 
pect  of  going  into  action  in  the  woods  with  the  regiment 
in  such  an  unmanageable  condition.  Captain  Sampson, 
of  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts,  was  the  choice  spirit 
of  the  occasion,  and  his  ardent  soul  did  much  to  relieve 
the  tedium  of  the  slowly  moving  hours  of  waiting  before 
battle. 

Towards  noon  of  the  thirtieth,  after  news  had  been 
received  of  General  Butler's  success,  the  column  was 
formed,  left  in  front,  and  marched  westward,  taking  a 
wood  road,  called  Poplar  Spring  Church  Road,  to  Peebles 
Farm,  a  part  of  the  Fifth  Corps  having  preceded.  As  the 
regiment  was  passing  in  the  valley  just  before  reaching  the 
farm,  the  enemy,  who  had  constructed  a  redoubt,  with  one 
gun  commanding  this  road,  fired  a  solid  shot  which  raked 
the  whole  length  of  the  regiment,  passing  just  over  the 
men,  and  causing  a  laughable  bobbing  of  heads.  That 
was  the  gun's  last  shot,  for,  in  a  few  moments  afterward, 
Griffin's  and  Ayres'  divisions  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  which  had 
been  drawn  up  fronting  the  Confederate  works  at  the  farm, 
charged  with  ringing  cheers  across  the  open  field  and  car 
ried  them  in  brilliant  style,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners 
and  the  gun  which  had  so  narrowly  missed  us. 

We  were  at  once  ordered  forward  at  the  double-quick, 
and,  coming  out  into  the  fields  and  fronting,  followed  the 
other  lines  of  battle  across  the  open  and  up  to  the  cap 
tured  works,  which  were  quite  strong,  especially  the  redoubt, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  297 

which  had  a  deep  ditch.  Thereupon  ensued  an  hour  or 
so  of  what  seemed  to  us  unaccountable  delay.  The  only 
Confederates  in  that  vicinity  had  been  captured  or  had  fled 
towards  Petersburg,  and,  to  all  appearances,  a  quick  dash 
forward  at  once  would  place  us  upon  the  Boydton  Road. 
What  seemed  hesitation  to  us  was  probably  the  time  occu 
pied  in  moving  the  Fifth  Corps  into  line,  connecting  their 
right  with  the  works  at  the  Weldon  Railroad,  and  placing 
on  the  left  of  that  corps  the  two  divisions  of  our  corps. 
As  it  was  the  intention  to  place  our  regiment  upon  the 
extreme  left  of  this  extended  line,  we  were,  of  course,  the 
last  to  be  brought  into  position,  hence  the  long  waiting 
until  late  in  the  afternoon. 

At  last  we  were  ordered  forward  and  marched  north 
westward,  across  the  Church  Road  to  the  Pegram  House 
—  then  standing  near  the  spot  where  Fort  Welch  was 
afterwards  built  —  and  alorig  a  ridge  of  the  cornfield, 
beyond  the  house,  towards  the  Boydton  Road.  It  was 
very  quiet  excepting  a  few  solid  shot  or  shell  which, 
coming  from  the  direction  of  Petersburg,  whizzed  over 
head  or  struck  in  the  pine  woods  on  our  right,  which  now 
concealed  everything  cityward.  On  this  ridge  the  regiment 
was  faced  north,  and  Major  Hudson  skirmishing  in  front 
led  on  down  to  the  high  rail  fence,  separating  the  field  we 
were  in  from  the  woods.  Jumping  the  fence  and  finding 
no  enemy  there  the  major  ordered  the  regiment  over  to 
the  north  side,  also,  and  up  to  the  northerly  edge  of  the 
grove  overlooking  open  ground  towards  Petersburg,  and 
in  plain  view  of  the  Confederate  lines  covering  the  Boyd 
ton  Road  near  the  B.  H.  Jones  House.  This  movement 
was  effected  slowly  but  in  good  order,  and  the  men  lay 
down  in  line  pending  further  action,  a  few  bullets  from  a 
line  of  the  enemy  in  front  chicking  in  the  tree  tops. 

An  aide  came  riding  from  the  right,  the  direction  of  the 


298  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Church  Road  and  the  rest  of  our  division,  and  directed 
the  major  to  throw  forward  the  right  of  the  regiment  by  a 
half  wheel  —  probably  to  conform  to  some  general  line  — 
which  was  done,  an  unfortunate  move  as  it  happened,  and 
the  men  lay  down  again.  The  adjutant  asked  the  staff 
officer  what  there  was  upon  our  immediate  right,  and  got 
for  a  reply,  "  Nothing  but  a  few  pickets."  We  knew  there 
was  nothing  but  skirmishers  upon  our  left.  It  seemed  a 
queer  position  to  be  in,  thus  cast  loose  at  night-fall  upon 
the  extreme  left  of  the  army. 

While  we  were  thus  situated  and  quietly  watching  a  line 
of  battle  approaching  in  front,  upon  whom  we  expected 
immediate  orders  to  charge  or  open  fire,  a  battalion,  said 
to  be  bounty  jumpers,  came  up  behind  us,  appearing  to  be 
forming,  when  suddenly  they  left  for  the  rear  with  a  haste 
truly  amazing  —  what  could  it  mean?  In  a  moment  the 
mystery  was  explained,  a  column  of  Confederates  charged 
upon  our  right-rear  from  the  direction  of  the  Church  Road, 
coming  upon  us  through  the  underbrush  before  we  discov 
ered  their  approach.  It  would  have  been  impossible  to 
devise  a  worse  plight  for  our  regiment  as  then  constituted. 
It  was  worse  than  the  surprise  at  South  Mountain,  for  then 
the  attack  was  in  front  and  we  could  at  least  understand 
orders.  For  change  of  direction  there  was  no  time. 
Defence  was  out  of  the  question ;  we  should  have  shot  our 
own  men.  In  front  was  the  line  we  had  been  watching, 
on  our  right  and  rear  were  the  new  enemies,  already  seiz 
ing  men  from  the  right  companies  as  they  broke  towards 
the  left.  The  only  thing  to  do  was  to  collar  our  recruits, 
shout  "Git!"  in  the  best  German  at  our  command,  as 
Captain  Ingell  would  have  done,  and  then  takes  ourselves 
off  over  the  fence  to  the  left  into  a  field  of  sorghum,  many 
of  the  men,  however,  getting  in  a  shot  before  crossing  the 
fence,  which  hindered  the  enemy  a  little,  their  foremost 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  299 

men  also  stopping  to  gather  in  those  of  our  regiment  who 
still  clung  to  earth  too  much  surprised  to  rise. 

Crossing  the  fence,  the  little  Twenty-First  battalion, 
under  Captain  Sampson,  deployed  as  skirmishers,  covered 
our  flight  of  a  few  rods  to  the  ridge  in  the  open  field, 
spoken  of  above,  situated  west  of  the  Pegram  House. 
Here  Sergeant  Thomas  Castle  took  position  with  the 
colors,  and  the  men  began  to  rally  in  a  good  position  for 
defence,  except  that  it  was  open  to  the  left.  Our  recruits 
were  full  of  fight,  and  some  of  them  began  firing  recklessly 
from  behind  the  ridge  through  our  forming  line,  one  shot 
killing  First  Sergeant  Young,  of  Company  E,  a  noble 
fellow.  This  back  fire  discouraged  the  formation,  and  now, 
to  our  surprise  —  for  we  had  hitherto  supposed  that  the 
surround  affected  only  our  regiment  —  on  looking  to  the 
right  we  saw  the  whole  of  our  brigade  coming  rapidly  to 
the  rear  in  line  of  battle,  they  also  having  been  outflanked. 
This  gave  the  impression  of  a  worse  state  of  affairs  than 
we  had  supposed ;  it  also  left  our  position  again  unsup 
ported  upon  the  flanks,  and  "  Fall  back ! "  was  again  the 
word,  this  time  with  the  expectation  of  resting  our  left 
upon  the  Confederate  line  of  works  and  redoubt  captured 
in  the  early  afternoon. 

In  effecting  this  second  movement  to  the  rear,  as  it  was 
now  twilight,  great  confusion  resulted.  A  part  of  the  regi 
ment  under  Lieutenant  Patch  succeeded  in  getting  in  with 
the  leftv  flank  of  the  brigade,  and  did  some  service  there. 
Another  part  was  with  Captain  Pope  and  the  regimental 
colors.  The  major,  adjutant  and  several  other  officers 
and  another  part  of  the  regiment  got  lost  in  the  darkness 
and  strange  locality,  and  went  wandering  to  the  westward, 
where  they  came  upon  a  Confederate  line  of  intrenchments 
newly  dug.  The  major  sprang  over  them,  revolver  in  hand, 
but  they  were  entirely  vacant,  their  men  having  been  drawn 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

to  their  left.  By  taking  a  direction  at  right  angles  to  these 
works,  this  part  of  the  regiment  also  succeeded  in  getting 
into  our  left,  where  our  cavalry  was  posted,  and  reached 
Poplar  Spring  Church,  from  whence  they  rejoined  the  other 
men  in  the  morning.  When  the  whole  left  had  been  swung 
back  some  distance,  the  Confederate  assailants  struck  the 
angle  of  Wilcox's  division  and  the  Fifth  Corps,  who  were 
securely  established,  and  were  repulsed  with  heavy  loss. 

On  October  i  the  division  was  in  position  behind  the 
intrenchments  near  the  redoubt  above  mentioned,  and 
here  the  regiment  was  assembled  about  daylight.  To  say 
that  there  was  a  general  feeling  of  shame  and  disgust  over 
the  events  of  the  night  before  would  weakly  characterize 
the  expressions  used.  And  yet  it  was  hard  to  see  what 
else  could  have  happened  under  the  circumstances.  If  we 
had  never  crossed  the  rail  fence,  but  had  remained  in  line 
upon  it,  we  should  have  been  fronted  just  right  to  open 
upon  the  enemy,  who  had  surrounded  us  in  our  advanced 
position,  and  we  could  then  have  done  as  good  service  as 
at  the  Weldon  Railroad ;  but  even  then,  the  line  of  the 
brigade  retiring  would  have  left  us  with  flanks  exposed 
and  subject  to  capture  in  toto,  very  much  as  the  Fifty- 
Eighth  was,  which  delayed  too  long  to  retreat. 

The  casualties  in  the  regiment  were  killed  or  died  of 
wounds,  ten :  Sergeant  W.  B.  D.  Andrews  and  Francis 
Gentsch,  of  Company  A ;  John  Vandervende,  of  Company 
B ;  Sergeant  William  C.  Oakman,  of  Company  C ;  Michael 
Neil,  of  Company  D;  Sergeant  George  I.  Young  and  Nich 
olas  Schnecker,  of  Company  E ;  Corporal  Charles  A. 
Crocker,  of  Company  H ;  Corporal  William  C.  Stimpson, 
Jr.,  and  Frederick  Metzger,  of  Company  I.  Lieutenant 
John  W.  Fiske,  formerly  our  color  bearer,  promoted  to 
the  Fifty-Eighth  Massachusetts,  was  among  the  killed. 
About  fifteen  were  known  to  be  wounded ;  among  them, 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS,  301 

First  Lieutenants  Farrington  and  John  N.  Morse,  and 
Second  Lieutenant  Angier ;  but  among  the  one  hundred 
and  sixty-three  who  were  missing,  some  never  afterwards 
heard  from  were  supposed  to  be  among  the  dead.  Among 
the  captured  were  Lieutenants  Alfred  Blanchard,  Jr.,  then 
orderly  sergeant,  and  Alfred  Ireland.  Of  the  prisoners 
Lieutenant  Blanchard  reports  that  there  were  in  the  pen 
at  Salisbury,  North  Carolina,  in  February  following,  one 
hundred  and  twenty  men  belonging  to  the  Thirty-Fifth. 
Some  of  the  recruits  took  the  oath  to  serve  the  Con 
federacy,  but  most  did  not,  remaining  true  to  the  stars 
and  stripes,  in  spite  of  their  first  dissatisfaction  and  the 
sufferings  of  prison  life. 

There  were  several  amusing  incidents ;  indeed  the  whole 
affair  after  it  was  over  was  a  laughable  one,  we  were  so 
completely  surprised  and  skedaddled.  Captain  Tobey, 
who  was  a  short,  thick  set,  pugilist  of  a  man,  was  calmly 
surveying  the  front,  when  he  was  grabbed  from  behind  by 
two  Confederates ;  taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance  he 
threw  up  both  arms  with  such  force  as  to  clear  the  grip 
of  his  captors,  then,  ducking  his  head,  he  bolted  for  the 
nearest  cover,  and  escaped  into  our  lines,  much  to  the 
merriment  of  his  boon  companions. 

Lieutenant  Farrington,  regimental  commander  after  the 
Weldon  Railroad  battle,  received  a  very  dangerous  wound, 
the  bone  of  the  left  upper  arm  being  broken  by  a  bullet. 
Lying  in  the  woods  after  our  men  had  left,  the  victors 
insisted  upon  his  joining  the  squad  of  prisoners  for  Peters 
burg;  he  refused,  feeling  unable  to  move,  and  informed 
them  that  if  they  wanted  him  in  Petersburg  they  must 
carry  him.  He  was  left  for  awhile,  and  recovering  some 
strength  got  off  unobserved  in  the  darkness  and  reached 
our  pickets.  His  arm  was  successfully  treated  in  the 
hospital  at  City  Point,  the  bone  being  resected. 


302  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Captain  Sampson,  of  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts, 
planted  his  flag  on  the  ridge  and  rallying  his  men,  who 
showed  the  same  heroic  spirit  as  upon  many  another  field, 
hung  to  the  spot  until  he  fell.  He  was  entitled  to  his  dis 
charge,  but  had  remained  with  his  battalion  to  lead  them 
in  one  more  action.  The  honor  of  the  old  Twenty-First 
was  worthily  sustained  by  him  that  day.  The  earthwork 
next  on  the  left  of  Fort  Welch  was  named,  after  him, 
Fort  Sampson. 

The  first  of  October  was  drizzling  and  dull,  and  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  about  in  the  dripping  rain  waiting 
for  something  to  turn  up,  and  discussing  the  particulars  of 
the  battle  and  where  the  fault  lay,  a  by  no  means  cheerful 
amusement.  It  was  said  afterwards  by  Major  Hudson, 
who  was  well  informed,  to  have  miscarried  through  the 
oversight  of  some  general  officer  j  but,  of  course,  the 
unwieldiness  of  our  regiment  made  the  mischance  worse 
than  it  should  have  been  to  us. 

That  night  another  saddening  event  happened.  Sergeant 
McCulloch,  of  Company  C,  chief  of  pioneers,  was  killed 
by  a  falling  tree,  which  struck  him  while  sitting  upon  a 
log  superintending  the  slashing  of  the  forest  along  the 
front.  A  grave  was  dug  upon  the  ground  which  the  regi 
ment  occupied  and  his  remains  were  laid  away,  while  a 
group  of  sorrowing  comrades  assisted  in  the  interment. 

Next  day  (October  2)  the  sun  came  out,  and  a  recon- 
noisance  in  force  was  made  by  a  part  of  the  Second  Corps, 
while  the  Ninth  Corps  moved  up  into  position  in  line  with 
the  Pegram  House  (position  of  Fort  Welch)  and  threw  up 
intrenchments,  which  continued  to  be  the  line  of  the  army 
until  the  end  of  the  siege.  There  was  no  interruption 
except  a  few  shells  thrown  with  remarkable  accuracy  by 
the  Confederates  from  our  left  and  enfilading  the  line, 
killing  or  wounding  some  in  the  Thirty-Sixth  Massachusetts 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  303 

on  our  left,  and  wounding  several  of  our  men.  Pickets 
under  Captain  Meserve  occupied  nearly  the  ground  of  our 
furthest  advance  on  the  thirtieth,  and  recovered  most  of 
the  dead,  whose  bodies  had  been  stripped ;  the  needs  of 
the  Confederates  requiring  the  clothing,  but  not  requiring 
the  mangling  and  ill  usage  which  some  of  the  bodies  had 
received,  as  if  stabbed  or  bayonetted  in  mere  wantonness 
of  hatred. 

The  enemy's  pickets  called  out  to  send  over  to  them 
the  rest  of  the  Fifty-Eighth  Massachusetts ;  as  they  had 
most  of  that  regiment,  they  would  like  to  have  the  spec 
imen  complete.  Also,  referring  to  the  Thirty-Fifth,  they 
said,  "  We  have  caught  some  real  live  Yankees  this  time, 
they  can't  speak  a  word  of  English  !  "  The  picket  posts 
of  the  opposing  armies  were  close  together  here,  but  by 
agreement  no  firing  was  permitted  without  previous  warn 
ing,  so  that  the  conversation  on  the  lines  was  quite  social, 
and  so  much  trading  was  begun  that  stringent  orders  had 
to  be  passed  to  stop  it.  Captain  Burrage,  of  the  Thirty- 
Sixth,  went  out  for  a  Richmond  newspaper,  and  the  Con 
federate  officer  craftily  claimed  that  he  had  advanced  too 
far  within  their  posts,  and  retained  him  a  prisoner,  much 
to  his  chagrin. 

The  memories  connected  with  this  camp  are  mostly  of 
a  pleasant  character.  The  intrenchments  were  strength 
ened  and  forts  built ;  a  strong  redoubt,  called  Fort  Fisher, 
was  constructed  on  the  right  of  our  regimental  line,  which 
rested  on  the  Church  Road ;  another,  larger  one,  called 
Fort  Welch,  was  made  on  the  left  where  the  Pegram 
House  had  stood.  The  batteries  of  the  enemy  on  the 
Boydton  Road,  which  enfiladed  our  line,  occasionally  sent 
us  a  few  compliments,  which  necessitated  building  trav 
erses,  but  did  us  no  harm.  The  trees  about  camp  were 
full  of  bullets,  the  relics  of  the  storm  of  lead  on  the  thir- 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

tieth,  and  a  number  of  the  slain  were  buried  with  a  very 
light  covering  of  earth  upon  the  ground  of  our  camp.  As 
decomposition  proceeded,  more  earth  was  needed,  and 
beside  one  grave  there  was  a  shovel  placed,  to  add  from 
time  to  time  additional  loam  to  the  expanding  heap. 
These  bodies  were  removed  as  soon  as  the  weather  per 
mitted  to  the  corps  cemetery,  and  properly  interred,  not 
however  without  incident.  The  arm  of  one  of  the  bodies, 
carried  upon  a  stretcher,  slipped  off,  and  swung  with  each 
movement  of  the  bearers  as  if  desirous  of  shaking  hands ; 
one  of  the  recruits  seized  it  to  replace  it,  when  the  limb 
separated  from  the  body  and  remained  in  his  grasp,  much 
to  his  horror,  for  he  was  very  superstitious. 

Dr.  Carr,  our  new  assistant  surgeon,  joined  on  the 
seventh  of  October,  and  proved  an  excellent  doctor  and 
pleasant  companion.  On  the  eighth,  to  the  great  delight 
of  the  old  members,  Colonel  Carruth  arrived  in  camp,  but 
did  not  take  command,  having  duties  on  court  martial.' 
He  had  for  some  months  contemplated  resigning  on 
account  of  ill  health,  but  was  persuaded  out  of  it  by  his 
friends  in  the  regiment,  who,  remembering  his  zealous 
ways,  thought  his  name  alone  at  the  head  of  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  would  be  stronger  than  the  presence  of  any  other 
officer.  Drills  and  instruction  were  resumed  •  under  the 
vigorous  direction  of  Major  Hudson,  and  great  improve 
ment  was  soon  apparent  in  the  recruits  in  their  knowledge 
of  our  language  and  ways,  and  in  soldierly  duties ;  a  lively 
scrimmage  consolidated  most  of  them  with  the  regiment 
in  feeling  and  interest. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  October  occurred  the  first  military 
execution  witnessed  by  the  regiment.  The  efforts  of  the 
peace  party  and  the  mercantile  prosperity,  caused  and 
maintained  largely  by  the  extravagant  expenditure  of  the 
Government,  had  almost  put  an  end  to  recruiting,  Boun- 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  305 

ties  of  one  thousand  dollars  and  upwards  —  the  estimated 
value  of  life  to  the  common  man  —  were  paid  to  men  to 
enlist,  who  then  had  at  least  an  even  chance  of  escaping 
service  at  the  front  by  getting  into  hospital  or  slipping  off 
on  their  way  from  the  recruiting  stations.  If  they  reached 
the  front,  the  worst  of  them  did  as  little  duty  as  possible 
and  deserted  to  the  enemy  when  able.  These  men  were 
called  bounty-jumpers.  The  Government  determined  to 
stop  the  desertion,  and  if  any  were  caught  of  those  who 
went  over  to  the  enemy  they  were  shot  or  hung,  according 
to  sentence,  without  reprieve.  The  scene  of  a  military 
execution  has  been  often  described,  but  to  witness  one  is 
always  impressive.  In  this  instance  the  division  was 
drawn  up  to  form  three  sides  of  a  square ;  the  condemned 
man  marched  into  the  enclosure,  preceded  by  the  band 
playing  the  woful  miserere,  and  followed  by  the  firing  party 

—  a  squad  of  men  from  the  provost-guard.     The  plain 
pine-board  coffin  was  laid  upon  the  ground  and  the  culprit 
seated  upon  its  end,  while  the  officer  of  the  provost  read 
the  warrant  of  execution.     The  prisoner  was  then  blind 
folded,  that  his  pleading  eyes  might  not  disturb  the  aim  of 
his  executioners ;  the  officer,  by  motion  of  his  hands,  not 
by  words,  gave  the  commands,  "  Ready !  Aim  !   Fire  !  "  a 
burst  of  flame  followed  from  the  muzzles  of  the  rifles,  and 
the  victim  fell  back  with  a  heavy  thud  upon  the  hollow 
box  prepared  for  his  burial ;  the  smoke  was  wafted  away 

—  he  was  a  moment  before  alive,  in  the  vigor  of  health, 
now  he  was  dead!  —  the  surgeon  walked  to  his  side  and 
examined  the   lifeless  clay.      This   affair  was   conducted 
with  such  order  and  solemnity  as  to  prove  very  affecting. 
The  prisoner  was  at  least  as  calm  as  the  spectators,  for  he 
leaned  down  to  pick  up  a  straw  while  the  warrant  was  being 
read.     It  is  a  rule  that  the  musket  of  one   of  the  firing 
party  shall  be  loaded  with  a  blank  cartridge,  so  that  no 


306  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

one  can  be  certain  that  he  fired  a  fatal  shot ;  but  all  are 
bidden,  sometimes  by  the  condemned  himself,  to  aim  with 
care  that  the  man  may  be  killed  at  once.  Such  executions 
were  quite  common  in  the  army  during  the  winter  of  1864- 
1865.  In  this  connection  we  may  add  that  no  one  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  is  known  to  have 
deserted  to  the  enemy.  The  men  who  are  reported  in  the 
roster  as  deserters  were  generally,  in  the  first  case,  strag 
glers  who  were  ashamed  to  rejoin,  and  then  tempted  to  stay 
away  permanently ;  and  no  one  of  them,  if  returned,  was 
ever  punished  by  more  than  the  ordinary  camp  discipline  of 
tying-up,  or  extra  police  duty,  or  some  disgrace  of  that  kind. 

At  this  camp,  the  Thirty-Ninth  New  Jersey  and  One 
Hundred  and  Seventy-Ninth  New  York  joined  the  brigade. 

On  the  twenty-fifth,  another  left  flank  move  was  com 
menced,  this  time  the  Ninth  Corps  to  be  the  pivot  and 
the  Second  and  Fifth  Corps  to  swing  out  to  Hatcher's 
Run,  and  the  regiment  was  under  orders  over  the  twenty- 
sixth.  On  the  twenty-seventh  the  march  began,  Colonel 
Carruth  in  command  of  the  regiment.  The  division  moved 
out  several  miles  to  Wells's  Farm,  threw  up  a  line  of  works, 
which,  of  course,  was  not  attacked,  and  remained  over 
night.  There  was  some  skirmishing,  and  a  very  heavy 
and,  at  the  time,  unaccountable  musketry  fire  was  kept  up 
a  little  way  to  our  left.  This  was  explained  afterwards  by 
a  statement  that  the  swinging  corps  had  become  so  much 
confused  in  the  thick  woods  and  swamps  as  to  have  lost 
all  points  of  direction,  and  this  din  of  arms  was  ordered 
to  give  them  the  direction  of  the  point  as  a  guide.  Next 
day  the  troops  all  came  back  to  their  old  camps,  having 
found  the  enemy  very  strongly  posted,  and  General  Grant 
not  wishing  to  do  anything  which  by  any  exaggeration  of 
the  newspapers  could  be  made  to  appear  like  a  defeat  of 
our  armies  just  before  election. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  307 

For  now  the  great  crisis  was  at  hand,  the  November 
election  of  1864,  which  was  to  decide  whether  the  people 
of  the  North  were  so  tired  of  the  war  as  to  be  willing  to 
give  the  Government  to  the  peace  party,  for  the  sake  of  an 
end  on  any  terms,  or  whether,  now,  with  Sherman's  and 
Sheridan's  victories  and  Grant's  masterly  supervision,  the 
end  of  the  long  sacrifice  was  to  be  won  in  one  final  effort 
of  all  the  moral  and  physical  forces  of  the  Union.  None 
of  the  Massachusetts  soldiers  voted,  many  from  the  other 
states  did,  and  the  result  was  throughout  country  and  army 
one  tremendous  verdict  in  favor  of  the  continuance  of  the 
war,  cost  what  it  might. 

As  soon  as  this  decision  was  announced  in  the  Confed 
erate  army  in  our  front,  desertions  from  it  to  us  and  to 
their  rear  commenced,  and  increased  in  numbers  as  the 
winter  progressed,  and  the  result  became  plainly  inevitable. 
Those  who  came  into  our  lines  announced  that  the  result 
of  the  election  had  furthered  the  work  of  disheartening 
their  army,  and  that  only  the  most  insensible  fire-eaters 
had  now  any  expectation  of  final  success  —  but  many  of 
Lee's  army  would  stick  to  the  ranks  from  love  of  him,  in 
stubborn  determination  to  abide  the  end.  We  therefore 
looked  for  severe  and  sanguinary  fighting  yet  to  come ; 
another  campaign  with  perhaps  long  marches  into  the 
interior  in  pursuit  of  the  concentrated  armies  of  the 
Confederacy. 

The  other  event  in  November  was  Thanksgiving,  which 
was  appointed  for  the  twenty-fourth,  but  the  turkey  feast 
was  celebrated  by  us  on  the  twenty-sixth,  because  the 
express  boxes  were  two  days  behind  time.  On  the  twenty- 
fifth,  a  lot  of  apples,  onions  and  cooked  turkeys,  sent  by 
kind  friends  in  New  York,  was  received  and  issued  to  the 
men;  and  on  the  twenty-sixth,  besides  the  many  boxes  for 
individuals,  there  came  an  ample  gift  from  Boston  mer- 


308  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

chants,  especially  to  our  recruits,  of  apples,  bolognas,  pies 
and  cooked  turkeys,  so  that  for  once  every  man  in  the  reg 
iment  had  plenty  of  good  things  to  eat.  The  pies  had 
been  neatly  packed  in  casks,  but  by  rough  handling  they 
had  become  broken  into  pieces,  and,  when  opened,  were  a 
mass  of  crumbs,  which,  nevertheless,  retained  the  honest 
pie  flavor,  and  were  scooped  up  and  measured  out  by  the 
dipper  full,  a  way  of  eating  pie  which  caused  a  good  deal 
of  fun  among  the  men.  Here  we  were  with  an  excellent 
dinner  spread,  where,  by  leaning  the  head  to  one  side,  the 
Confederate  pickets  could  be  seen  and  almost  spoken  to  j 
and  yet  we  ate  this  feast  in  peace  and  quietness,  and  with 
thankful  hearts,  and  not  a  few  reminiscences  of  our  last 
two  celebrations  of  the  day,  at  Falmouth  and  while  besieged 
in  Knoxville,  and  with  heartily  cheered  toasts  and  proph 
ecies  that  our  next  year's  feast  would  be  kept  with  our 
dear  ones  at  home. 

Quartermaster  Cutter  had  again  returned  to  the  regi 
ment  for  the  winter,  and  tented  with  Assistant  Surgeon 
Carr.  We  gained  Captain  Mirick  from  detached  service, 
but  lost  Captain  Meserve,  who  received  the  commission  of 
major  in  Colonel  King's  new  regiment,  the  Fourth  Massa 
chusetts  Heavy  Artillery.  We  doubt  if  the  major  found 
the  promotion  adequate  compensation  for  the  loss  of  sev 
eral  months  of  companionship  with  his  old  chums  and 
comrades  in  the  Thirty-Fifth,  at  any  rate  they  sadly  missed 
him.  News  of  Captain  Blanchard's  discharge  reached 
camp,  his  wound  received  at  the  mine  proved  so  disabling 
as  to  compel  his  retirement  from  active  service,  and  finally 
led  him  gently  down  to  the  grave.  May  the  gallant  captain 
rest  in  peace !  The  Thirty-Fifth  was  his  pride,  and  he 
spurned  with  indignation  anything  but  the  severest  duty 
for  the  regiment. 

We  had  occasional  alarms,  but  nothing  resulted  except 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  309 

watchfulness.  We  had  now  been  away  from  the  imme 
diate  front  of  Petersburg  over  three  months,  and  the  other 
corps,  who  had  held  our  old  intrenchments  and  endured 
the  pounding  these  long  weeks,  began  to  think  it  was  time 
for  them  to  have  a  respite.  So,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of 
November,  we  left  this  pleasant  camp  on  the  extreme  left, 
which  we  had  such  an  unfortunate  experience  in  acquiring, 
and,  being  relieved  by  the  Second  Corps,  marched  again 
to  the  right  to  the  Jones  House  and  Hancock's  Station,  in 
rear  of  Fort  Sedgwick. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

WINTER    QUARTERS,    1864-65 "FORT    HELL." 

THE  Ninth  Corps  was  now  posted  in  the  intrenchments 
and  forts  along  a  line  of  about  seven  miles,  from 
Fort  McGilvery  on  the  Appomattox  around  to  Fort  How 
ard  —  the  redoubt  built  at  the  angle  of  the  works  we  had 
occupied  in  August,  after  the  battles  upon  the  Weldon 
Railroad.  The  First  Division,  under  General  Wilcox,  was 
stationed  nearest  the  Appomattox ;  our  division,  General 
Potter's,  extended  from  Fort  Meikle,  next  south  of  Fort 
Morton,  to  the  left,  including  Forts  Rice,  Sedgwick,  Davis, 
etc.  Fort  Sedgwick  was  garrisoned  by  the  Seventh  Rhode 
Island  and  Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania  regiments,  with  bat 
teries.  The  military  railroad,  which  had  been  constructed 
while  we  were  at  the  left  of  the  army,  extended  along  the 
whole  rear  of  this  line.  The  Fourth  Division  (colored 
troops)  had  been  transferred  to  the  Twenty-Fifth  Corps; 
their  presence  with  us,  while  it  added  little  to  our  strength 
—  so  unwilling  were  our  generals  to  trust  in  them  —  had, 
owing  to  the  prejudice  of  color,  affected  the  standing  of 
the  corps,  and  thereby  injured  its  esprit.  In  place  of 
them  we  now  had  a  new  Third  Division,  composed  of  six 
Pennsylvania  regiments,  numbered  Two  Hundredth,  Two 
Hundred  and  Fifth,  Two  Hundred  and  Seventh,  Two 
Hundred  and  Eighth,  Two  Hundred  and  Ninth  and  Two 
Hundred  and  Eleventh,  which  were  encamped  along  the 
railroad  and  proved  to  be  composed  of  good  soldiers. 


311  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT 


West  of  the  railroad  and  the  Jones  House  there  was  a 
tract  of  low,  swampy  land,  covered  with  pine  forest.  The 
camp  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  was  located  on  the  west  of  this 
swamp,  upon  the  open  upland,  from  which  the  forest  had 
been  stripped,  leaving  the  stumps  everywhere  prominent, 
and  about  four  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  Fort  Sedgwick. 

It  was  announced  that  we  should  probably  remain  upon 
this  spot  all  winter ;  and,  after  a  few  days'  study  of  the 
locality,  a  regular  camp  was  laid  out,  in  company  streets, 
with  regimental  headquarters  and  officers'  tents  upon  the 
left,  on  account  of  the  wet  land  in  rear.  The  color  line 
was  the  highest  ground,  from  which  the  land  fell  off  gently 
to  the  rear,  making  a  good  drainage.  Pitch-pine  logs  were 
abundant  for  the  cutting,  and  the  men  were  skilful  in 
handling  the  axes ;  accordingly  hut  building  was  indus 
triously  pursued,  with  a  resulting  success  never  equalled 
by  the  regiment.  Colonel  Carruth  superintended  the  con 
struction.  Each  hut  was  made  long  enough  for  what  was 
called  a  double-tent  roof,  formed  of  four  pieces  of  shelter 
tent,  about  eleven  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide,  the  sides 
high  enough  for  a  gun  to  stand  upright  under  the  eaves. 
Chimneys  of  sticks,  mud  and  barrels  were  placed  at  the 
ends,  and  beds,  shelving,  flooring  and  such  conveniences 
added  within,  according  to  the  ingenuity  of  the  occupants. 
In  a  short  time  the  men  were  sheltered  more  comfortably 
than  ever  before  in  the  service ;  they  took  great  pride  in 
policing  the  grounds,  and  the  camp  was  pronounced  by 
the  medical  inspector  to  be  the  best  on  the  line. 

From  our  color  line  to  the  front  extended  the  open 
stumpage  land,  which  served  as  a  place  of  deposit  for 
Confederate  projectiles,  mortar  shells  and  spent  bullets 
in  great  numbers.  Beyond  this  plain  was  a  ravine,  from 
which  the  land  rose  to  our  main  line  of  breastworks,  sup 
ported  by  Fort  Sedgwick,  called  "Fort  Hell,"  on  the  left, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  312 

and  Fort  Rice  some  distance  to  the  right.  From  the  left 
of  Fort  Sedgwick  our  lines  fell  back  to  Fort  Davis,  which 
was  some  ways  off  and  about  on  a  line  with  our  camp.  In 
front  of  our  intrenchments  were  planted  obstructions  of  all 
kinds,  abatis  of  limbs  of  trees,  pikes  pointing  outward  and 
chevaux  defrise.  Beyond  these  was  our  picket  line,  a  low 
earthwork,  with  rifle  pits  at  intervals,  raised  higher,  and, 
in  some  instances,  strengthened  with  gabions  and  head 
logs  with  loop  holes.  Some  three  hundred  yards  off  was 
the  Confederate  picket  line,  behind  that  their  main  line, 
supported  by  forts  —  the  one  opposite  us  called  Fort 
Mahone,  or  "  Damnation  "  by  the  soldiers ;  they  also  had 
an  interior  line  of  great  strength.  Right  and  left  the  lines 
extended  in  the  same  manner,  except  that  to  the  right  the 
opposing  lines  gradually  came  close  together,  while  to  the 
left  the  space  between  widened  out  rapidly.  Half  way 
between  Forts  Sedgwick  and  Rice  was  a  mortar  battery, 
under  command  of  Lieutenant  Loomis,  of  the  First  Con 
necticut  Heavy  Artillery,  an  officer  of  remarkable  nerve 
and  contempt  of  danger. 

The  duty  of  the  regiment  was  light  —  simply  to  be  ready 
at  all  times,  night  or  day,  to  rush  to  the  breastworks  con 
necting  the  forts,  in  case  of  an  attack,  and  to  furnish  a 
daily  detail  of  officers  and  men  for  the  picket  line  and  an 
alarm  guard  on  the  breastworks.  The  length  of  our  brigade 
picket  line  in  December  was  about  fifteen  hundred  and 
eighty-one  paces,  with  eighty-five  posts,  guarded  by  from 
four  to  eight  commissioned  officers  and  three  hundred  and 
thirty-three  men  ;  the  lines  were  shifted  and  posts  changed 
from  time  to  time,  also  the  number  of  men.  There  was 
no  firing  of  musketry  during  the  day,  and  horizontal  artil 
lery  fire  was  so  infrequent  as  to  be  always  noticeable ;  but 
there  was  a  constant  fusillade  of  small  arms  at  night  and 
duels  of  the  noisiest  kind  in  the  daytime  between  the 


313  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

mortar  batteries  —  called  the  perpendicular  fire  —  which 
threw  nine-inch  shells,  sometimes  even  into  the  swamp 
behind  our  camp ;  generally,  however,  they  exploded  in 
the  air  over  our  forts,  or  scattered  their  fragments  in 
front  of  our  color  line,  but  with  all  their  noise  and  terrific 
appearance  seldom  injured  anybody.  The  weather  during 
the  winter  was  changeable  —  cold  snaps,  with  snow  and 
hail  and  all  the  discomforts  of  a  Northern  winter,  alter 
nated  with  intervals  of  mild,  sunny  days,  when  it  was  a 
delight  to  be  abroad. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  King  having  been  promoted  to  a 
colonelcy,  as  before  mentioned,  Mr.  Burr  Porter,  a  stranger 
to  the  regiment,  was  named  for  the  vacancy  by  Governor 
Andrew  over  Major  Hudson,  who  had  earned  the  promo 
tion.  A  remonstrance  was  made  against  this  slight  to  the 
major,  and  the  matter  was  arranged  by  the  appointment 
of  Mr.  Porter  to  a  cavalry  regiment,  and  Major  Hudson 
became  lieutenant-colonel  in  January. 

The  events  during  the  winter  were  not  very  exciting,  but 
were  sufficient  to  constantly  stimulate  expectation  of  an 
early  breaking  up  of  the  Confederacy.  On  the  eighth  of 
December  cautionary  orders  were  received  to  be  ready  to 
move  at  any  moment ;  they  were  repeated  on  the  ninth, 
and  the  men  were  directed  to  sleep  with  equipments  on. 
The  occasion  of  this  excitement  was  that  the  Fifth  Corps 
and  a  division  of  the  Second  Corps  had  gone  on  a  raid 
due  south  to  the  North  Carolina  state  line  to  destroy  the 
railroad,  and  a  counter  move  was  looked  for  from  the 
Confederates  upon  our  lines  weakened  by  the  absence  of 
those  troops. 

On  the  tenth,  a  double  execution,  by  hanging,  of  two 
deserters  took  place  in  the  fields  near  Hancock  Station, 
at  which  the  division  was  required  to  be  present.  The 
effect  upon  the  men  was  less  impressive  than  death  by 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  314 

shooting ;  the  incidents  of  a  hanging  scene  are  more  vile 
and  less  blood  curdling.  One  of  the  spectators,  who  had 
probably  been  at  work  fixing  up  some  officers'  accounts, 
wanted  to  know  whether  the  ropes  and  slip-nooses  would 
be  charged  to  the  condemned  men's  camp  and  garrison 
equipage  accounts ! 

With  this  grim  event  for  the  morning's  entertainment, 
at  four  in  the  afternoon  a  provisional  division,  composed 
of  troops  not  in  the  forts,  was  massed  at  the  Jones  House, 
and  started  south,  at  dark,  down  the  Jerusalem  plank  road 
to  Nottaway  River,  some  twenty  miles,  marching  all  night 
in  mud  ankle  deep,  the  footing  made  worse  by  the  broken 
remnants  of  the  planks  of  which  the  road  had  been  con 
structed.  The  purpose  of  the  expedition  was  to  discover 
the  whereabouts  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  which  had  been  off 
on  the  raid  above  mentioned  for  several  days,  and,  if 
needed,  to  give  assistance. 

In  the  morning,  reaching  the  Nottaway,  the  raiders  were 
found  to  be  all  right  and  coming  back  in  high  spirits,  after 
destroying  the  railroad  and  trying  their  hands  a  little  at 
foraging,  of  which  they  had  read  so  much  in  connection 
with  Sherman's  marches,  but  had  so  little  in  their  own 
experience  of  late.  After  a  rest  from  nine  until  afternoon, 
our  presence  being  superfluous,  while  our  absence  from  the 
Petersburg  line  might  be  discovered,  we  started  back, 
footsore  and  weary,  but  braced  up  by  a  change  to  cold 
freezing  weather,  and  made  the  return  trip  in  seven  hours, 
over  roads  now  stiff  and  extremely  rough  for  night  march 
ing.  The  return  journey  was  the  hardest  of  the  year,  and 
will  long  be  remembered  by  those  whose  foot  gear  gave 
out,  and  who  found  themselves  obliged  to  hop  along  with 
feet  exposed  to  the  frozen  ground.  We  had  lain  so  long  in 
camp  that  our  walking  powers  had  suffered,  and  next  morn 
ing  found  us  as  stiff  and  sore  a  lot  of  heroes  as  was  ever 


315  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

collected  within  our  cognizance.  The  colonel  had  thought 
fully  sent  forward  to  camp  and  ordered  hot  coffee  prepared, 
which  was  issued  immediately  upon  arrival,  and  did  much, 
aided  by  the  comfortable  quarters,  to  banish  the  fatigues 
of  a  winter  march  of  nearly  forty  miles  in  twenty-four 
hours.  The  orders  to  be  in  readiness  were  renewed,  but 
the  Confederates  respected  our  condition  and  allowed  the 
weary  to  rest  undisturbed. 

On  the  sixteenth  there  was  a  tremendous  bombardment, 
and  some  one  hundred  bomb  shells  burst  in  front  of  our 
camp.  This  was  followed  on  the  seventeenth  by  good 
news  from  General  Sherman. 

Bullets  came  over  at  night  from  the  picket  line,  and 
could  be  heard  "chicking"  in  the  trees,  but  seldom  hurt 
ing  any  one.  Folsom,  of  Company  I,  whose  name  it  was 
always  quite  safe  to  place  on  the  list  of  wounded  before 
the  roll  was  called  after  an  action,  was  struck  in  his  tent 
by  a  spent  ball,  for  the  fifth  time  on  as  many  separate 
occasions.  His  record  was  equalled  by  Sergeant  Haskell, 
of  Company  C,  who,  in  March  following,  was  wounded  for 
the  sixth  time.  It  was  a  mystery  that  while  some  men 
seemed  invulnerable  through  every  exposure,  others  could 
never  come  under  fire  but  they  were  found  by  some  kind 
of  missile  at  once ;  the  men  used  to  remark  of  such  unfor 
tunates  that  the  bullets  did  not  know  them ;  absentees 
returning  to  the  regiment  were  apt  to  be  treated  in  this 
unfriendly  way  by  the  leaden  messengers.  An  officer 
writing  in  his  tent  at  evening  was  startled  by  the  sharp 
"  thud  ! "  of  a  bullet  in  the  logs  of  his  hovel,  "  Come  in  ; 
don't  stop  to  knock ! "  said  he,  and  went  on  with  his  work. 
He  was,  we  believe,  the  one  who  entered  in  his  diary, 
"  Captain  and  I  spend  our  evenings  studying  rhetoric  (!) 
and  playing  checkers,  then  I  read  a  sermon,  after  which 
we  turn  in." 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  316 

The  old  regimental  flags  having  become  worn  to  rags 
and  tatters,  a  requisition  was  made  upon  the  quarter 
master's  department  for  a  new  stand,  and  upon  the  twen 
tieth  of  December  a  handsome  national  flag  and  a  blue 
regimental  color  were  received  and  planted  for  exhibition 
upon  the  color  line,  where  they  were  much  admired  for 
brilliancy  of  dye.  The  old  as  well  as  these  new  colors 
were  afterwards  marked  with  inscriptions  and  the  names 
of  battles  in  which  the  Thirty-Fifth  had  taken  part,  and  are 
deposited  in  the  Doric  Hall  of  the  State  House  in  Boston, 
with  the  flags  of  the  other  Massachusetts  regiments. 

Our  sutler,  Mr.  Williams,  who  had  been  with  us  a  part 
of  the  summer  and  at  the  camp  near  Poplar  Spring  Church, 
made  a  change  of  business,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  A. 
G.  Merrill,  a  native  of  Maine,  who  proved  an  excellent 
caterer,  and  remained  with  the  regiment  until  the  end  of 
its  term  of  service. 

Desertions  from  the  enemy  were  constant.  On  the 
twenty-first  six  men  came  over  from  the  Forty-Fifth  or 
Forty-Sixth  Virginia,  saying  that  they  had  been  conscripted 
and  forced  into  the  ranks,  and  that  their  whole  company 
would  follow  them  in  a  few  days.  One  declared  that  the 
end  of  the  war  was  very  near;  he  hoped  that  we  would 
"hang  Jeff  Davis,  but  let  'Bob'  Lee  off,  for  he  was  a  good 
fellow " ;  there  were  other  expressions  which  showed  a 
feeling  of  deep  hatred  in  the  Confederate  rank  and  file 
towards  their  President.  They  spoke  of  their  short  rations 
—  a  small  piece  of  bacon  and  a  corn  pone,  each,  for  the 
twenty-four  hours.  Afterwards  we  saw  strewed  about  their 
winter  quarters  English  preserved  meat  cans,  showing  that 
in  part  their  subsistence  came  through  the  blockade.  These 
deserters  devoured  the  crackers,  coffee  and  sutler's  stores 
which  were  offered  them  with  the  appetite  of  half-famished 
men,  which  we,  with  our  last  winter's  experience  in  East 


317  HISTORV    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Tennessee,  could  fully  appreciate.  To  get  across  to  us 
they  would  take  advantage  of  darkness  and  stormy  nights, 
and  run  the  risk  of  being  shot  by  their  own  men,  as  well 
as  by  our  pickets,  but  none  were  known  to  have  been 
killed  between  the  lines ;  comrades  probably  fired  high  in 
such  cases,  and  were  even  known  to  cheer  and  wave  their 
hats  when  some  conspicuously  bold  escape  by  daylight 
was  successfully  effected. 

Watching  through  a  field  glass  the  movements  among 
the  Confederate  pickets  or  within  their  interior  lines,  their 
artillery  drill,  effect  of  our  shots,  etc.,  was  an  amusement 
of  our  idle  hours  during  the  winter.  They  seemed  to  be 
busied  most  of  the  time  with  carrying  and  splitting  wood 
for  their  fires,  or  sitting  over  the  smoking  embers  in  a 
rather  disconsolate  way,  suggestive  of  anything  but  a 
brilliant  future  for  their  cause ;  the  meditations  of  those 
hours,  if  recorded,  must  now  be  interesting  reading. 

Among  our  men,  on  the  contrary,  the  prospect  for  the 
future  continually  brightened ;  the  desertions  were  ocular 
proof  of  the  failing  Confederacy ;  to  these  were  added,  on 
the  twenty-fourth,  news  of  Sherman's  capture  of  Savan 
nah,  and,  in  January,  of  General  Thomas's  victory  at 
Nashville  and  the  storming  of  the  forts  at  Wilmington; 
in  February,  the  fall  of  Charleston  and  Columbia,  and 
Sherman's  progress  northward ;  the  thermometer  of  hope 
rose  steadily.  With  finger  upon  the  heart  at  Richmond, 
we  seemed  to  feel  the  ebbing  of  the  pulse  as  thus  the 
limbs  were  successively  lopped  off.  There  were  occasional 
events,  however,  near  us,  which  prevented  this  feeling  — 
that  the  war  was  over  —  making  too  rapid  progress,  and 
indicated  a  bitterly  hostile  spirit  still  alive  in  some,  at 
least,  of  our  opponents.  It  was  our  custom  to  relieve  the 
pickets  in  the  afternoon,  that  the  men  might  be  fresh  and 
alert  during  the  night,  and  that  the  Confederates  might 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  318 

see  by  daylight  that  the  movement  in  our  lines  was  simply 
the  relief.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  December  some 
black-hearted  artillery  man  in  their  main  line  treacherously 
fired  two  spherical-case  shells  at  our  returning  picket  detail, 
one  only  of  which  took  effect,  killing  Corporal  Charles  W. 
Oilman,  of  Company  C  —  an  excellent  man  —  and  wound 
ing  three  others,  two  of  Company  C  and  one  of  Company 
E  —  the  latter,  Henry  Lenkorf,  died  of  his  wounds  soon 
after  in  the  field  hospital.  This  act  was  loudly  condemned 
on  both  sides  as  a  breach  of  the  tacit  agreement  not  to 
fire  during  the  day,  but  the  author  of  the  deed  would 
probably  reply  that  the  understanding  had  reference  only 
to  the  pickets,  and  not  to  the  artillery  and  mortars,  which 
opened  whenever  they  saw  game  worth  the  powder. 

The  eventful  year  (1864)  closed  cold  and  blustering,  and 
New  Year's  Day  opened  revealing  the  country  white  with 
a  light  fall  of  snow,  which,  however,  was  gone  before  night. 

Colonel  Carruth  was  absent  at  brigade  headquarters  in 
command  of  the  brigade,  from  time  to  time,  during  the 
winter,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hudson  commanded  the 
regiment  on  such  occasions.  Captain  Mirick  had  returned 
from  detached  service  the  last  of  October,  and  upon  the 
third  of  January  was  detailed  acting  assistant  inspector- 
general  of  the  Third  Brigade  of  the  First  Division,  com 
posed  of  many  of  the  regiments  which  had  constituted  our 
old  First  Division.  Our  commissary,  William  H.  P.  Plum- 
mer,  had  continued  along  with  the  same  troops  as  brigade 
commissary  since  the  breaking  up  of  the  division.  Sergeant 
William  P.  Rice  and  Samuel  Pray  did  commissary  duty 
with  the  regiment.  On  the  fourth  of  January  First  Lieu 
tenant  Nason  was  mustered  in  as  captain,  and  Second 
Lieutenant  Bent  as  first  lieutenant. 

On  the  eighth  a  new  lot  of  white  flannel  for  corps  badges 
was  cut  up  and  distributed,  the  color  for  our  division  re- 


319  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

quiring  more  frequent  renewal  than  the  red  and  blue.  On 
the  tenth  a  storm  of  rain  was  so  severe  as  to  flood  the 
rifle  pits  along  the  picket  lines ;  and,  upon  both  the  Con 
federate  side  and  ours,  the  guards  stacked  arms  on  the 
bank  and  paced  their  beats,  fully  exposed,  with  hostilities 
suspended  for  the  time  by  the  elements. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  January  news  was  received  of  the 
promotion  of  Major  Hudson  to  lieutenant-colonel.  We 
had  not  since  South  Mountain  gone  into  action  with  a 
colonel  and  lieutenant-colonel  present  at  the  same  time, 
and  never  with  a  full  list  of  field  officers  present ;  now  that 
we  had  them  with  us,  we  were  anticipating  what  it  would 
be  like  to  be  so  well  commanded  in  battle. 

On  the  last  day  of  January  the  Confederate  Vice- 
President,  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  and  Messrs.  Campbell 
and  Hunter,  as  peace  commissioners,  passed  through  the 
lines  to  City  Point  under  a  flag  of  truce,  and  had  an  inter 
view  with  President  Lincoln  and  officers  of  the  National 
Government.  Expectation  was  a-tip-toe  in  both  armies, 
and  the  wearied  rank  and  file  hoped  the  result  would  be  a 
peace  with  honor  to  both  parties  —  with,  of  course,  the 
Union  saved.  Next  day  the  Confederates  opposite  us 
commenced  cheering  loudly,  and  our  boys  replied  as 
vigorously ;  the  shouting  ran  along  the  lines  and  died 
away.  What  it  was  all  about  no  one  knew ;  probably  an 
explosion  of  pent-up  emotion.  But  the  commission  had 
no  result  other  than  to  reveal  the  growing  apprehensions 
of  the  Confederate  leaders. 

During  February  many  furloughs  were  granted,  and 
some  men  of  the  regiment  who  had  not  been  away  from 
their  companies  since  the  departure  from  Lynnfield  were 
now  rewarded  by  a  visit  to  their  homes.  A  leave  of 
absence  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  anticipate  and  enjoy,  but 
the  pain  of  again  parting  from  loved  ones  more  than 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  32O 

equalled  the  pleasures ;  several  declared  upon  returning 
that  they  wanted  no  more  furloughs  until  the  fighting 
business  was  ended.  Visitors  came  to  camp  from  the 
North ;  among  them  Hon.  Charles  Hudson,  father  of  our 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  Mr.  Nathan  Carruth,  uncle  of  our 
colonel. 

More  military  executions  and  noisy  bombardments  were 
the  only  exciting  events  during  February.  Occasional 
orders  to  be  ready  to  march,  to  make  an  attack  or  to  meet 
one,  were  received,  and  a  vigilant  watch  was  kept  for  signs 
of  an  evacuation  of  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  but  no 
active  results  followed  on  our  part.  Our  former  major  — 
Wales  —  sent  us  a  foot-ball,  which  was  hailed  with  delight 
by  the  boys,  and  athletic  exercises  were  practised  to  keep 
the  men  in  condition,  or  long  equestrian  trips  made  to  the 
right  or  left,  with  such  Government  nags  and  dilapidated 
harness  as  could  be  found  or  borrowed. 

On  the  twenty-fourth  another  list  of  promotions  was  an 
nounced :  Captain  Mirick  to  be  major;  First  Lieutenants 
Wright  and  Mason  to  be  captains ;  Second  Lieutenants 
Hardy  and  Worcester  to  be  first  lieutenants ;  Sergeants 
Ellis,  Chamberlin  and  Bagley  to  be  second  lieutenants. 
On  the  same  day  a  tremendous  shotted  salute  was  fired 
along  the  lines,  by  order  of  General  Grant  —  in  honor  of 
the  capture  of  the  Wilmington  forts  —  to  the  amazement 
of  the  Confederates,  who  did  not  relish  such  a  method  of 
demonstrating  joy  at  their  defeat. 

On  the  third  of  March  Major  Haviland  paid  off  the 
regiment.  On  the  seventh,  at  dusk,  we  received  orders  to 
relieve  the  Forty-Eighth  Pennsylvania,  to  whom  we  gave 
up  our  comfortable  huts,  and  received  in  exchange  their 
damp  bomb-proofs  and  hovels  in  the  northerly  and  more 
exposed  part  of  Fort  Sedgwick,  where  we  were  quartered 
during  the  rest  of  the  month.  The  fort  was  not  regularly 


321  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

planned,  but  was  an  irregular  enclosure,  as  if  the  accidental 
line  of  breastworks  first  thrown  up  by  the  skirmishers  of 
the  Fifth  Corps,  when  they  effected  a  lodgment  across  the 
Jerusalem  plank  road  in  June  previous,  had  been  taken 
for  the  outline,  upon  which  heavy  parapets  and  deep 
ditches  had  been  constructed  by  the  troops  during  the 
summer  and  autumn.  The  result  was,  nevertheless,  so 
strong  that  the  Confederates,  having  at  one  time  decided 
to  make  an  assault  here,  upon  consideration,  changed  the 
scene  to  Fort  Steadman,  as  mentioned  hereafter.  They 
also  began  a  mine  from  their  works  to  blow  us  up  and 
made  some  progress,  but  did  not  complete  it — the  entrance 
was  to  be  seen  long  afterwards.  The  interior  of  our  fort 
was  divided  into  two  quite  distinct  parts,  of  which  the 
southerly  was  more  properly  called  Fort  Sedgwick  and 
contained  the  best  engineering  work  (that  part  continued 
to  be  garrisoned  by  the  Seventh  Rhode  Island),  while  our 
half  was  nick-named  "Fort  Hell."  The  general  incli 
nation  of- the  land  was  to  the  rear,  making  a  considerable 
cover  of  itself.  This  slope  was  burrowed  into  and  dug 
out  in  the  construction  of  bomb-proofs,  covered  ways, 
drains,  wells,  magazines  and  shelters,  in  a  way  to  puzzle 
a  stranger  to  get  about  by  daylight ;  much  more  was  it  a 
labyrinth  in  the  night-time.  The  armament  of  the  fort 
and  its  outworks  was  twelve  cannon  and  eight  mortars. 
The  parapet  nearest  to  the  enemy  was  formed  of  a  double 
tier  of  gabions,  with  cross-ties  and  stamped  earth,  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  thick,  cut  by  embrasures,  from  which  a  cross 
fire  from  the  batteries  at  either  end  was  obtained  over 
most  of  the  ground  in  front.  In  the  rear  the  parapet  was 
but  one  gabion  in  height,  for  infantry  defence  only.  The 
deep  ditch  in  front  was  partly  filled  with  rain  water  and 
was  a  bad  place  to  get  past,  even  if  the  long  range  of 
half-buried  pikes,  abatis  and  chevaux  de  frise  did  not  stop 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  322 

the  assailants.  Within  easy  speaking  distance  in  front  was 
our  picket  line.  The  Confederates  exhibited  good  sense 
in  not  assaulting  these  defences.  The  order  of  companies 
in  the  regimental  line  was  rearranged  as  follows:  right — 
I,  E,  K,  D,  F,  H,  B,  A,  C,  G  — left. 

The  first  days  in  the  fort  were  wet  and  wretchedly  un 
comfortable  ;  it  took  some  time  to  learn  the  capabilities  of 
the  place.  The  quarters  of  the  men  were  in  long,  barrack- 
like  bomb-proofs,  or,  rather,  bullet-proofs,  for  they  would  not 
stop  an  unexploded  shell.  They  were  low  structures  of 
logs  opening  to  the  rear,  with  frequent  doors  for  easy  exit 
in  case  of  alarm,  and  chimneys  here  and  there  for  warmth 
and  cooking.  The  roofs  were  made  of  logs  and  earth,  in 
rainy  weather  moist  and  dripping,  and  making  the  interior 
at  all  times  dark  and  dismal.  The  officers,  at  first,  occu 
pied  the  bomb-proofs  which  their  predecessors  had  made, 
by  digging  a  deep  cellar,  roofing  with  cross  layers  of  the 
largest  logs,  and  covering  all  with  great  piles  of  earth, 
making  mounds  of  considerable  size.  Entrance  to  these 
underground  quarters  was  obtained  by  cutting  steps  down 
to  the  floor,  and  chimneys  were  built  up  from  them,  making 
upon  the  whole  about  as  chill  and  gloomy  a  tomb  as  one 
could  well  wish  to  be  buried  in.  Rain  turned  these  rat 
holes  into  dripping  baths,  which  continued  to  drip  long 
after  the  weather  above  ground  had  cleared.  After  a  few 
days'  trial  of  underground  life  most  of  the  officers  pitched 
tents  in  rear  of  the  mounds  of  their  bomb-proofs,  and  occu 
pied  them,  except  when  an  uncommonly  severe  mortar 
shelling  made  the  security  from  flying  pieces  compensate 
for  the  descent  into  Avernus. 

The  days  were  getting  soft  and  spring-like,  and  it  was 
pleasant  loitering  about  the  banquette,  watching  the  Con 
federates,  or  engaged  under  a  fly  tent  in  the  endless  work 
of  company  and  regimental  accounts  and  letter  writing. 


323  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Our  view  to  the  rear  was  quite  open,  including  a  long 
stretch  of  the  military  railroad.  While  we  were  at  work 
the  Confederates  would  occasionally  open  with  artillery, 
firing  over  our  heads  at  the  trains,  the  car-tops  crowded 
with  blue  coats,  moving  slowly  along  the  track  to  the  left 
or  back  to  City  Point,  but  their  aim  was  so  inaccurate  they 
never  seemed  to  succeed  in  hitting  the  mark. 

Their  mortar  shelling  would  commence  after  dinner  or 
at  tea  time,  seldom  in  the  morning,  and  would  be  carried 
on  for  an  hour  or  two  with  commendable  industry.  At 
such  times,  most  of  our  garrison  would  find  the  occasion 
sufficiently  exciting  to  abandon  other  employment  and 
witness  the  performance ;  but  there  were  exceptions,  such 
as  Smith  of  Company  C,  the  adjutant's  clerk,  who  kept  on 
with  his  writing,  as  if  nothing  less  than  a  nine-inch  shell 
exploding  between  his  feet  could  disconcert  him.  The 
best  place  to  see,  and  the  most  secure  place,  was  as  near 
to  the  picket  line  as  possible,  because  the  shells  were 
intended  for  the  interior  of  the  fort;  the  men  in  rear, 
therefore,  crowded  to  the  front.  In  the  daytime  the  burst 
of  smoke  from  the  Confederate  mortars  could  be  seen ;  a 
black  speck  would  dart  into  the  sky,  a  mile  high,  it  was 
said  —  though  none  of  us  took  pains  to  measure  it  with  a 
tape  line  —  there  the  speck  seemed  to  hang  a  moment, 
increasing  in  size,  rolling  over  and  over  lazily,  and  the 
revolving  fuse  beginning  to  whisper  audibly,  as  it  darted 
down  towards  us,  at  first,  softly,  "I'm  a-coming,  I'm  a- 
coming " ;  then  louder  and  more  angrily,  "  I'm  coming ! 
I'm  coming ! "  and,  at  last,  with  an  explosion  to  crack 
the  drum  of  the  ear,  "  I'm  HERE  ! "  and  the  ragged  chunks 
of  iron,  hot  with  the  explosion  and  smelling  strongly  of 
sulphur,  would  fly  in  all  directions. 

All  we  asked  for  was  a  few  at  a  time,  but  when  the 
mortars,  both  to  left  and  right,  began,  the  cross-fire  practice 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  324 

was  infernal ;  the  shells  came  too  fast  to  be  watched,  and 
the  spectators  losing  their  reckoning  would  be  startled  by 
explosions  so  near  and  unexpected  as  to  be  astounding. 
On  the  twentieth  the  enemy  threw  into  our  fort  one  hundred 
shells,  and  as  many  outside ;  nine  of  the  largest  bombs 
burst  or  buried  themselves  in  the  earth  within  fifty  square 
yards  in  one  minute  of  time.  One  would  suppose  that  this 
could  not  be  done  without  great  slaughter ;  but  on  that 
day,  owing  to  precaution,  not  a  man  was  hurt,  yet  the 
interior  of  the  fort  was  burrowed  by  great  holes,  where  the 
bombs  had  exploded  after  burying  themselves  in  the  ground. 

The  mortar  practice  at  night  was  more  terrible  in  ap 
pearance,  but  less  dreaded,  because  the  brightly  burning 
fuses  could  be  more  easily  distinguished  and  the  shells 
avoided.  This  perpendicular  fire  was  more  irksome,  be 
cause  the  infantry  could  only  stand  and  take  it  without 
reply ;  there  was  nothing  to  vent  one's  anger  upon.  Lieu 
tenant  Loomis,  with  his  mortar  battery,  was  the  only  person 
so  happily  situated  as  to  be  able  to  return  shot  for  shot  in 
kind.  One  of  our  men  declared  it  to  be  a  kind  of  warfare 
too  mean  for  decent  men,  anyhow,  and  that  if  he  ever 
got  a  chance  he  would  give  those  "blarsted"  Confederate 
mortars  a  kick  all  round ;  and,  amusing  to  relate,  he  after 
wards  actually  carried  out  his  threat,  and  administered  the 
indignity,  at  which  such  F.  F.  V.  mortars  doubtless  felt 
excessively  mortified. 

There  was  so  much  correspondence  between  the  pickets 
that  advantage  of  it  was  taken  by  both  parties  to  spread 
information  which  would  encourage  desertions.  Our  gen 
erals  offered  the  price  of  a  stand  of  arms  to  all  deserters 
from  the  Confederate  army  who  brought  their  muskets 
with  them.  On  the  other  hand  the  enemy  opened  com 
munication  by  letter  with  bounty-jumpers  and  substitutes 
in  our  ranks,  among  them  with  our  Germans,  offering  them 


325  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

an  open  road  to  Europe  by  way  of  Mexico.  The  temp 
tation  was  too  strong  for  some  of  the  dissatisfied  ones,  and 
on  the  night  of  the  twenty-first  four  of  them  deserted  to 
the  enemy  from  their  picket  post,  an  offence  for  which 
hanging  would  be  too  mild  a  punishment,  but  they  were 
never  captured. 

Every  night  the  pickets  in  front  and  on  the  flanks  kept 
up  a  dropping  fire  of  musketry.  They  were  restrained  by 
order  from  firing  recklessly  or  rapidly,  except,  of  course, 
in  case  of  attack ;  each  man,  therefore,  expended  his  shots 
only  upon  suspicious  looking  objects,  in  his  front;  but, 
nevertheless,  the  amount  of  ammunition  expended  was 
excessive,  and  more  guns  were  burst  than  at  any  other 
time  in  the  experience  of  the  regiment.  The  Confederates 
fired  in  a  similar  manner,  partly  to  prevent  desertions  j 
their  bullets  came  singing  or  whizzing  or  caterwauling  over 
our  heads,  in  every  musical  tone  or  pitch,  all  night,  as  we 
slept.  So  accustomed  did  our  ears  become  to  these  scat 
tering  shots  that  while,  ordinarily,  the  noise  was  not  ob 
served,  any  increase  or  diminution  would  excite  attention, 
and  a  party  at  cards  would  drop  the  pasteboards,  snatch 
up  the  guns  or  swords,  which  always  lay  close  at  hand,  and 
hurry  to  the  front,  to  return  and  resume  the  game  when 
the  ordinary  pop-popping  was  renewed.  The  proximity  of 
the  lines,  and  consequent  danger  of  surprise,  demanded, 
when  attack  threatened,  the  presence  of  every  man  at  the 
parapets  instantaneously  and  with  a  celerity  of  movement 
not  laid  down  in  the  tactics.  Rushing  out  in  this  way, 
among  the  thousand  pit-falls  of  our  honey-comb  of  a  fort, 
amid  the  singing  bullets,  was  a  common  excitement.  The 
situation  was  a  remarkable  one  for  the  labors  of  a  reformer, 
nevertheless  one  of  the  officers  found  time  to  prepare  and 
deliver  to  an  appreciative  audience  a  lecture  on  temperance, 
the  Confederate  bullets  furnishing  the  cat-calls. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  326 

About  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  twenty-fifth, 
the  lieutenant-colonel  being  away  on  furlough,  the  colonel 
and  adjutant  were  sleeping  quietly  in  the  headquarters' 
hut,  when,  with  a  start,  both  sprang  up,  broad  awake; 
"What  is  it?"  asked  the  colonel.  "Don't  know,  sir," 
was  the  reply,  "  but  there's  something  up."  In  a  moment 
they  had  slipped  on  boots,  buckled  sword  belts,  and  were 
in  the  open  air.  In  front  our  pickets  were  firing  not  more 
rapidly  than  usually,  but  the  dull  boom  of  a  gun,  subdued 
cries  and  musket  shots  came  over  the  lines  from  far  to 
the  right.  "An  attack  upon  the  right,"  said  the  colonel. 
"  Rally  the  men!"  and  in  a  few  seconds  the  regiment 
was  under  arms  along  the  front  parapet.  The  noise  of 
fighting  continued,  and  the  field  guns  opened  from  the 
forts  along  the  line  ;  but  it  was  not  until  daylight  that  we 
learned  that  the  Confederate  attack,  which  had  been 
threatened  upon  our  front,  had  been  delivered  and  re 
pulsed  at  Fort  Steadman. 

The  enemy  had  during  the  night  sent  over  men  pre 
tending  to  be  deserters  bringing  in  their  arms ;  these  out 
numbered  and  captured  the  pickets  in  front  of  Fort 
Steadman  •  then  followed  heavy  columns  of  infantry,  who 
easily  occupied  the  fort  and  the  adjacent  works,  making 
prisoners  of  many  of  the  sleeping  garrisons.  In  doing 
this,  in  the  darkness,  their  troops  became  disordered,  failed 
to  advance  and  secure  their  victory,  and  were  completely 
defeated  when  our  artillery  waked  up,  and  General  Hart- 
ranft  and  'his  gallant  Pennsylvanians  charged  upon  their 
front,  with  the  troops  belonging  to  that  part  of  our  line 
upon  the  flanks,  and  captured  two  thousand  prisoners  and 
a  number  of  regimental  flags.  It  was  the  mine  affair 
again  with  sides  reversed,  and  the  Confederate  failure  to 
move  forward  promptly  was  even  less  excusable  than  ours 
had  been,  for  the  ground  before  them  for  some  distance 
23 


327  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

was  lower  instead  of  higher  than  the  works  they  had 
occupied.  But  the  same  confusion,  after  the  first  charge, 
led  to  the  same  inability  of  the  assaulting  party  to  secure 
the  intended  results.  It  was  a  desperate  attempt,  with 
hardly  a  chance  of  final  success,  and  if  planned  by  General 
Lee  was  the  worst  specimen  of  generalship  he  exhibited 
within  our  ken  during  the  war. 

Fort  Steadman  was  about  two  miles,  by  the  curvature  of 
the  lines,  to  our  right,  and  a  few  of  the  members  of  the 
regiment  were  allowed  to  visit  the  scene,  while  the  flag  of 
truce  was  flying  for  burial  of  the  Confederate  dead,  which 
in  this  case  was  granted  at  once,  not  after  forty-eight  hours' 
delay  as  after  the  mine  affair.  Major  Mirick  was  found 
all  right,  after  doing  deeds  of  valor  in  defence  of  Fort 
Haskell,  next  on  the  left  of  Fort  Steadman.  Commissary- 
Sergeant  Plummer  was  also  safe  and  sound,  but  his  stores 
of  beef,  pork  and  hard  bread  had  been  almost  captured. 
The  garrison  of  the  fort  had  been  the  Fourteenth  New 
York  Heavy  Artillery,  which  had  been  among  the  first  to 
enter  the  crater;  the  adjacent  works  were  occupied  by 
regiments  formerly  of  our  old  First  Division,  so  that  the 
troops,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the  combat,  were  about 
the  same  as  in  that  affair,  and  the  result  of  this  helped 
to  countervail  the  unpleasant  memories  of  that  misfortune. 
This  brilliant  recovery  of  Fort  Steadman  has  always  been 
considered  by  the  army  as  the  happy  beginning  of  the 
triumphant  ending  of  the  war. 

A  division  of  the  Sixth  Corps  moved  down  from  the  left 
and  passed  along  the  railroad  in  our  rear,  but  was  not 
needed  to  complete  the  success,  and  after  awhile  returned, 
followed  soon  after  by  the  long  column  of  prisoners  in 
gray  marching  to  army  headquarters,  before  and  in  plain 
sight  of  their  late  comrades  in  Fort  Mahone,  who  must 
have  thought  the  spectacle  bitterly  discouraging. 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  328 

To  make  a  diversion,  the  Second  and  Sixth  Corps,  dur 
ing  the  morning,  moved  out  from  our  old  position  near 
Fort  Welch  —  Poplar  Spring  Church  —  on  the  left,  and 
captured  the  Confederate  picket  line  in  front,  at  Dr.  Bois- 
seu's  house  (we  called  it  Bosworth's),  where  we  had  been 
"  skedaddled  "  on  the  thirtieth  of  September.  This  line 
continued  to  be  held  by  our  army,  and  its  proximity  to  the 
Boydton  Road  enabled  the  Sixth  Corps  to  make  their 
assault  from  it  on  the  second  of  April  following  so  grandly 
successful. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

LIFE    IN    THE   CONFEDERATE    PRISONS. 

WHILE  the  regiment  was  passing  the  months  of 
winter  in  the  comfortable  quarters  and  with  the 
hopeful  anticipations  described  in  the  last  chapter,  many  of 
our  comrades  were  enduring  privation  and  dejection  be 
yond  the  power  of  language  to  describe  within  the  prisons, 
or  pens,  as  they  were  called,  scattered  through  the  seaboard 
states  of  the  Confederacy.  Before,  therefore,  we  enter 
upon  the  last  days  of  the  grand  drama,  let  us  leave  the 
Thirty-Fifth  in  Fort  Sedgwick,  and  turn  our  attention  for 
a  time  to  those  who  were  so  unhappily  separated  from  us. 

Until  the  Wilderness  campaign  but  five  names  of  enlisted 
men  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  had  been  inscribed  upon  the  prison 
rolls  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  first  man  captured  in  1864  was  Seth  H.  Manson,  of 
Company  B,  on  the  eighteenth  of  May. 

It  was  not  until  May  24,  1864,  that  men  were  snatched 
out  of  the  skirmish  line  of  the  regiment  in  battle.  The 
manner  of  it  has  been  described  in  the  account  of  the 
battle  on  the  North  Anna  River.  Among  the  men  taken 
that  day  was  Sergeant  Henry  W.  Tisdale,  who,  by  request, 
has  furnished  a  narrative  of  the  prison  life  of  the  men  then 
captured.  Our  greatest  loss  in  prisoners  occurred  on  the 
thirtieth  of  September,  1864,  as  related  in  Chapter  XI ; 
for  these  Lieutenant  Alfred  Blanchard,  Jr.,  has  consented 


330  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

to  speak,  in  a  description  of  Salisbury,  N.  C.,  and  Dan 
ville,  Va.,  prisons. 

Sergeant  Tisdale  writes  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  was  captured  at  the  battle  of  North  Anna  River,  Va., 
May  24,  1864.  The  brigade  was  in  hasty  retreat  Stopping 
to  give  a  wounded  man  some  water  I  became  separated 
from  my  company,  and  in  the  woods,  mist  and  rain  got  out 
of  the  right  line  of  retreat.  Coming  to  an  open  field,  I 
was  startled  by  seeing  some  men  spring  from  the  tall  grass 
with  the  yell,  *  Drop  that  gun  ! }  '  Don't  fire  on  your  own 
men  ! '  I  called  in  reply,  only  to  call  forth  a  second  yell, 
'  Drop  that  gun ! ! '  and  then  the  humiliating  conviction 
came  over  me  that  I  was  a  prisoner.  'A  few  seconds  more 
and  you  would  have  been  a  dead  man,'  was  the  greeting  of 
the  'reb,'  as  he  took  my  rifle.  I  was  loath  to  give  it  up, 
for  it  bore  the  scar  of  a  rebel  bullet,  received  at  Jackson, 
Miss.,  and  I  hoped  to  carry  it  home  as  a  relic  of  the  war. 

"  I  was  mortified  at  finding  myself  apparently  the  only 
prisoner  from  the  Thirty-Fifth,  but  soon  others  were 
brought  in,  and  in  all  nine  of  us  were  captured.  We 
were  taken  to  Anderson's  Station,  where  we  were  relieved 
of  all  government  property,  as  the  rebs  claimed  it  to  be, 
viz.,  tents,  knapsacks  and  rubber  blankets.  The  Confed 
erate  soldiers  were  in  the  main  good  looking  men,  but  were 
poorly  uniformed,  in  a  variety  of  colors  and  styles,  with  not 
a  little  of  the  'blue.'  Though  poorly  clothed  they  prided 
themselves  upon  their  skill  in  the  use  of  the  rifle,  saying 
that  nearly  all  of  their  camp  drill  for  the  past  winter  had 
been  at  target  practice. 

"On  the  twenty-fifth  of  May  we  were  marched  south, 
about  five  miles,  to  Taylorsville.  Desolation  was  about 
us  on  every  hand.  We  remained  there  till  dark,  and  then 
a  ten-mile  march  brought  us  to  Ashland,  where  neither 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  331 

cold  nor  rain  could  keep  us  from  sleeping  soundly  upon 
a  grassy  plat  of  mother  earth.  We  woke  to  find  ourselves 
under  a  guard  of  citizens,  and  were  permitted  to  converse 
with  them  freely.  We  learned  that  all  able-bodied  men 
were  in  the  service,  directly  in  the  ranks  or  as  nurses, 
teamsters,  etc.  They  professed  to  have  the  fullest  confi 
dence  in  the  success  of  their  cause,  and  were  full  of  ire  at 
the  enlistment  of  negroes  by  our  government,  but  admitted 
that  they  also  used  the  blacks  in  fort  building,  etc.  In  the 
afternoon  we  were  on  the  cars  '  on  for  Richmond,'  and  at 
night  were  within  the  walls  of  the  second  story  of  Libby 
Prison. 

"A  roster  of  our  names,  regiments,  rank,  etc.,  was  made  ; 
we  were  searched  and  all  United  States  money  was  taken, 
with  the  promise  that  it  would  be  refunded  at  the  end  of 
the  war;  those  who  had  time  adopted  ways  of  concealment, 
such  as  hiding  it  under  the  tongue,  between  the  soles  of 
the  shoes,  etc.  Men  fortunate  enough  to  have  saved  blan 
kets  and  coats  were  allowed  to  keep  them.  We  were  four 
days  in  Libby ;  the  first  two  passed  quite  comfortably,  the 
last  two  overcrowded  with  new  arrivals.  Our  rations  of 
one-half  pound  of  corn  bread,  one-quarter  pound  of  pork 
and  one-half  pint  of  rice  were  easily  disposed  of.  Two 
lots  of  prisoners  came  up  from  Belle  Isle ;  they  confirmed 
the  reports  of  hard  treatment  there,  that  they  were  obliged 
to  splice  out  their  rations  with  dogs,  rats,  etc.,  and  that 
boxes  of  supplies  sent  by  the  U.  S.  S.  Commission  and  by 
friends  were  for  the  most  part  confiscated  by  the  rebs. 

"May3ist.  We  bade  good-bye  to  Libby,  and  eleven 
hundred  of  us  were  packed  in  box  cars,  sixty  to  a  car,  en 
route  for  Andersonville,  Ga.  Four  of  us  had  formed  a 
mess,  offensive  and  defensive,  agreeing  to  share  our  united 
possessions,  future  gains  and  fortunes.  Three  were  from 
the  Thirty-Fifth :  B.  F.  Pratt,  3d,  of  Company  H,  J.  A. 


332  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Lord,  of  Company  C,  and  your  humble  servant ;  the  fourth 
was  Emery  Smith,  Third  New  York  Cavalry,  formerly  a 
member  of  the  Eighteenth  Massachusetts.  One  of  us 
having  some  Confederate  money  invested  in  biscuit  at  one 
dollar  each.  After  a  ride  of  twenty  hours  we  were  landed 
at  Danville,  for  rations ;  a  small  allowance  of  coarse  corn 
bread  and  fat  bacon  was  given  us.  Again  we  moved  on, 
at  almost  funeral  pace,  and,  June  2d,  we  were  landed  in  a 
fine  grove  at  Charlotte,  N.  C.  Here  again  our  mess  invested 
in  biscuit,  two  dozen  for  five  dollars  and  a  half,  with  which, 
and  the  rations,  we  were  enabled  to  sleep  with  our  hunger 
tolerably  satisfied.  At  midnight  a  heavy  shower  awoke 
us  to  the  fact  that  we  had  none  of  Uncle  Sam's  shelter 
tents  over  us,  and  we  agreed  that  if  ever  we  were  permitted 
to  use  them  again  we  would  do  so  without  grumbling. 

"June  3d.  Again  in  box  cars,  sixty-five  men  to  a  car. 
A  ride  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  miles  brought  us  to 
Augusta,  Ga.  For  a  portion  of  the  way  we  were  permitted 
to  ride  upon  the  tops  of  the  cars,  where  we  swarmed  like 
bees.  The  sight  of  fields  of  strawberries  and  other  fruits 
made  our  mouths  water.  We  saw  also  gangs  of  slaves  at 
work,  women  at  the  plow,  etc.  At  Augusta  we  were  placed 
in  some  cotton  sheds,  under  a  guard  of  citizens,  whose 
courteous  treatment  was  in  pleasant  contrast  with  the  un 
feeling  guard  we  had  upon  the  train.  They  were  quite 
willing  to  exchange  money — one  greenback  dollar  for  ten 
Confederate  —  and  to  buy  all  watches  and  jewelry  offered. 
Pratt  sold  his  watch  for  one  hundred  dollars  (Confederate), 
which  we  laid  aside  as  a  reserve  fund. 

"June  6th.  Again  on  the  move  for  Andersonville.  As 
we  neared  our  journey's  end  an  increasing  soberness  came 
over  us,  and  there  was  but  little  disposition  to  joke  with 
each  other  or  with  the  rebel  guard ;  this  partly  from  weari 
ness,  but  more  from  an  increasing  conviction  that  the  hor- 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  333 

rors  of  Andersonville  were  but  too  true.  After  a  ride  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  at  noon,  June  7,  we  were 
drawn  up  in  line  just  outside  the  prison.  Soon  a  grim- 
visaged,  wiry-looking  man  came  riding  down  the  line,  and 
when  nearly  opposite  our  position  yelled,  with  savage 
oaths,  to  some  gunboat  men  to  '  dress  up.'  This  was  our 
first  view  of  the  commandant  of  the  prison,  Captain  Wirz.* 

"We  were  counted  off  into  'detachments,'  as  the  rebs 
called  them,  of  two  hundred  and  seventy,  and  subdivided 
into  messes  of  ninety  men  each.  Each  mess  was  put  in 
charge  of  a  sergeant,  who  was  instructed  to  make  a  roster 
of  his  men,  and  that  his  duties  would  be  to  draw  and  divide 
their  rations,  report  and  look  after  the  sick,  etc.  When 
the  call  was  made  for  sergeants  to  volunteer  for  this  duty, 
it  flashed  upon  me  that  here  was  a  chance  to  avoid  what  I 
had  felt  would  be  the  worst  feature  of  prison  life  —  idleness 
—  and  with  a  bound  I  sprang  to  the  front  to  secure  the 
position.  I  was  accepted  and  put  in  charge  of  third  mess, 
Detachment  76.  I  found  that,  in  addition  to  the  blessing 
of  plenty  to  do,  there  were  double  rations  as  a  perquisite 
of  office. 

"  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  filed  into  our  prison  home, 
begrimed  with  dust  and  dirt,  weary,  faint,  and  hungry.  As 
the  heavy  timber  gates  swung  open  for  our  entrance,  more 
than  one  of  us  felt,  from  what  we  had  seen  outside,  like 
saying,  'Abandon  hope  all  ye  who  enter  here  ! '  Escorted 
inside  the  gate  we  were  dismissed  by  the  rebel  guard  and 
left  to  find  quarters  for  ourselves  as  best  we  could.  This 
was  no  easy  task  so  crowded  was  the  place ;  it  was  impos 
sible  to  locate  my  ninety  together,  so  bidding  each  to  shift 
for  himself  our  mess  turned  its  attention  to  finding  a  spot 
large  enough  to  squat  upon  without  encroaching  upon  the 
domain  of  our  predecessors.  We  possessed  for  shelter 

*  Captain  Wirz  was  condemned  and  hung  at  Washington  after  the  war. 


334  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  covering  two  woollen  blankets  and  two  overcoats,  and 
had  been  fortunate  enough  to  gobble  and  bring  in  tent 
poles,  so  that  we  soon  had  our  blankets  over  us  for  a  tent. 
Our  next  thought  was  to  get  cleansed,  but  how  to  do  this 
without  soap  was  our  query  as  we  betook  ourselves  to  the 
creek.  We  were  told  that  there  was  a  reb  sutler  on  the 
other  side  of  the  prison,  and  soon  ten  dollars  of  our 
hoarded  hundred  were  exchanged  for  a  bar  of  soap  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  square  by  twelve  long. 

"  Perhaps  the  best  idea  of  our  prison  life  can  be  con 
veyed  by  copying  at  intervals  from  my  diary  : 

"  *  June  8th.  I  find  the  prison  to  contain  fifteen  acres, 
surrounded  by  a  double  stockade  of  hewed  pine  logs, 
twenty  feet  in  height,  and  closely  guarded  by  sentinels, 
who  stand  in  sentry  boxes  overlooking  the  camp.  A  bat 
tery  of  six  pieces  commands  the  enclosure.  Inside  the 
stockade  and  about  fifteen  feet  from  it  is  the  dead  line,  a 
narrow  rail  upon  posts  about  three  feet  high  •  outside  this 
railing  we  are  not  allowed  to  pass,  nor-  even  to  touch  the 
rail ;  the  guard  have  orders  to  shoot  any  one  disobeying 
these  rules.  Through  the  centre  of  the  camp,  from  north 
to  south,  runs  a  sluggish  stream  styled  "  the  creek,"  about 
four  feet  wide  and  half-knee  deep.  The  upper  portion,  for 
about  fifteen  feet,  is  for  drinking  purposes ;  the  rest,  from 
before  daylight  to  late  at  night,  is  more  or  less  crowded 
with  men  bathing  or  washing  clothes  in  the  muddy  fluid. 
On  either  side  of  the  stream  is  a  strip  of  swampy  land, 
about  two  rods  wide,  the  lower  portion  of  which  is  used 
for  a  sink,  the  balance  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  the  refuse 
of  the  camp. 

"  '  Going  over  the  enclosure  and  coming  in  contact  with 
its  inmates,  one's  eyes  fill  with  tears  and  the  heart  shrinks 
in  horror  at  the  scenes  around  him  —  men  almost  skeletons 
from  lack  of  food,  from  diarrhoea,  and  chills  and  fever; 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  335 

others  racked  with  rheumatic  pains  or  bloated  with  scurvy ; 
more  than  half  of  them  clothed  in  rags,  and  all  begrimed 
with  the  pitch-pine  smoke  from  the  fires.  Added  to  these 
horrors,  one  finds  a  spirit  of  selfishness  sad  to  witness  — 
the  strong  oppressing  the  weak.  Pratt  of  our  mess  found 
by  bitter  experience  to-day  that  there  were  those  who 
would  deliberately  rob  a  fellow  prisoner.  Going  to  bathe 
he  left  his  clothes  upon  the  bank ;  when  he  resumed  them 
he  found,  to  his  grief,  that  his  pocket-book  was  gone,  and 
with  it  the  balance  of  our  reserve  fund.  "  I  do  not  care 
for  the  money,"  he  said,  with  tears  streaming  down  his 
cheeks,  "  but  those  pictures  of  my  wife  and  child,  if  I  only 
had  them  they  might  have  the  money."  Talking  over  the 
matter  with  a  prisoner  who  has  been  here  quite  a  while, 
he  said  there  was  an  organized  band,  termed  "  raiders  " 
by  their  fellow  prisoners,  who  were  in  league  to  rob  and 
plunder  each  new  arrival. 

" '  Most  of  the  men  have  shelters  of  some  kind  —  tents 
of  blankets,  overcoats,  or  rags  patched  together ;  booths 
of  pine  or  oak  boughs ;  mud  huts  or  caves  in  the  hill-side. 
The  north  side  is  honeycombed  with  burrows,  some  large 
enough  to  contain  twenty  men. 

"'June  i2th.  For  three  days  I  have  been  very  busy 
organizing  my  ninety  into  squads  to  go  for  wood,  for 
rations,  and  to  get  out  the  sick  at  sick-call.  No  rations 
are  issued  to  any  detachment  of  which  the  members  are 
not  at  roll-call,  "  all  present  or  accounted  for."  The  rations 
are  brought  in  the  afternoon  —  meal  and  rice  in  fifty 
pound  bags,  corn  bread  in  sheets  about  eighteen  inches  by 
twenty  four  and  two  or  three  inches  thick,  sometimes  half- 
cooked  or  baked  so  hard  as  to  endanger  our  teeth.  Bacon 
sides  form  the  meat  ration.  Men  sent  out  for  wood  go 
under  guard  and  take  an  oath  not  to  attempt  to  escape. 
I  went  to  sick-call  to-day ;  disease  is  showing  itself  among 


336  HISTORY   OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

us  already.  The  place  for  examination  is  near  the  south 
western  corner,  between  the  two  stockades.  Nearly  two 
thousand  were  reported  sick,  to  attend  to  whom  were  but 
two  or  three  surgeons.  I  saw  the  saddest  sight  I  ever 
witnessed  —  men  were  brought  out  in  blankets  by  scores 
weak  and  emaciated  from  diarrhoea  or  bloated  and  loath 
some  from  scurvy,  begging  to  be  taken  to  hospital  or  that 
something  might  be  done  for  them,  at  least  a  shelter  from 
the  sun  and  rain.  I  find  that  some  have  been  here  nearly 
a  year. 

" '  At  the  reb  sutler's,  fruit  and  vegetables  can  be  bought : 
eggs,  one  dollar  (Confederate)  per  dozen  ;  potatoes,  one 
dollar  and  sixty  cents  per  dozen ;  beans,  fifty  cents  per 
quart ;  cucumbers,  sixty  cents  apiece ;  onions,  one  dollar 
per  dozen ;  salt,  twenty-five  cents  per  gill ;  watermelon, 
twenty-five  cents  a  slice,  etc.  As  each  lot  of  prisoners 
brings  more  or  less  money,  the  sutler  finds  them  willing 
and,  too  often,  unwise  purchasers  of  his  stock. 

"  'June  i3th.  Rainy  most  of  last  night,  cold  and  drizzly 
to-day.  Hundreds  of  poor  fellows  are  shivering  about 
camp.  God  pity  and  help  them,  for  none  of  us  can  do 
anything  for  them.  It  seems  as  if  the  officials  had  no 
desire  to  promote  our  comfort  in  the  least.  Reports  are 
in  circulation  that  a  part  of  us  are  to  be  paroled  soon. 

"  'June  i5th.  To-day  is  the  third  of  a  cold  rain,  and  it 
is  making  sad  havoc  with  the  weak  and  shelterless ;  the 
number  of  sick  and  the  death  rate  are  on  the  increase. 
We  had  to  take  down  our  blankets  to  keep  warm,  pre 
ferring  wetting  to  freezing.  Further  experience  of  the 
prison  makes  it  more  sad  and  sickening.  The  commandant 
seems  to  have  but  little  executive  ability,  and  to  be  totally 
devoid  of  humanity. 

" '  Planning  and  working  to  escape  occupy  the  time  of 
thousands  of  the  well  and  strong.  Many  make  the  attempt 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  337 

when  let  out  for  wood,  or  from  the  hospital  when  detailed 
as  nurses  or  assistants.  Inside  the  prison,  tunnelling  is 
constantly  going  on  ;  eighteen  men  burrowed  out  last  night. 
Not  one  in  a  hundred  succeeds  in  getting  to  the  land  of 
freedom,  for  the  daily  circuit  of  the  camp  by  the  pack  of 
blood-hounds,  kept  for  the  purpose,  soon  discovers  the 
trail  of  the  runaways,  and  a  few  hours  find  them  back 
again.  Some  return  with  bodies  torn  by  the  teeth  of 
these  savage  pursuers.  Yesterday  the  rebs  discovered  an 
unfinished  tunnel,  actually  breaking  into  it  just  outside 
the  stockade,  its  makers  having  struck  a  little  too  near 
the  surface.  The  work  of  tunnelling  is  carried  on  in  the 
night;  a  number  club  together,  keeping  the  matter  to 
themselves ;  they  select  a  spot  as  near  to  the  dead-line  as 
possible,  and  sink  a  shaft  from  the  inside  of  some  "  she 
bang,"  cave  or  dug-out,  maybe  pretending  to  be  digging 
a  well ;  then  they  aim  to  reach  the  surface  just  outside  the 
stockade.  Case  knives,  spoons,  wooden  shovels  and  tin 
plates  are  the  tools  for  digging,  and  the  excavated  earth  is 
carried  away  to  the  creek  or  covered  with  rubbish.  Some 
of  the  pretended  wells  are  sunk  thirty  feet. 

"'June  1 6th.  Foggy  morning.  I  had  a  trying  time 
drawing  rations  last  night,  not  getting  them  till  after 
dark,  and  drawing  uncooked  bacon  and  rice.  The  task 
of  distributing  these  in  the  darkness,  relieved  only  by  the 
pitch-pine  torches,  to  the  impatient  and  half-starved  men 
crowding  upon  one  another  in  their  eagerness,  was  a  hard 
one.  This  makes  two  days  we  have  received  raw  rations 
without  being  allowed  to  go  out  for  wood  with  which  to 
cook  them.  The  despairing  look  with  which  some  of 
those  who  had  no  wood  received  their  portions  was  sad 
to  witness.  Some  burrow  in  the  earth  for  roots  of  the 
pine  forest  which  formerly  occupied  the  ground.  In  fact 
this  digging  for  roots  has  become  the  daily  occupation  of 


338  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

hundreds ;  each  scrap,  even  if  no  larger  than  a  pipe-stem, 
is  eagerly  seized,  split,  and  stacked  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
This  neglect  to  provide  us  or  allow  us  to  go  out  and  get 
wood  seems  utterly  inexcusable,  and  one's  blood  boils  as 
he  thinks  of  the  piles  of  refuse  tops  and  branches  trimmed 
from  the  timber  and  now  lying  outside  the  stockade.  It 
seems  to  most  of  us  proof  of  a  deliberate  plan  to  weaken 
us  in  all  ways  short  of  actual  starvation. 

"  '  June  i  yth.  Eleven  hundred  Yanks  in  to-day.  They 
bring  all  sorts  of  reports  as  to  the  progress  of  the  war, 
some  encouraging  and  some  discouraging. 

"  *  June  i8th.  Heavy  rain  from  four  P.  M.  yesterday  till 
midnight;  got  well  soaked  drawing  rations.  Succeeded 
in  getting  two  of  my  ninety  into  hospital,  and  another  has 
developed  scurvy  badly. 

"'June  iQth.  Sun  out  to-day  for  the  first  time  this 
week.  One  poor  fellow  killed  last  night  while  attempting 
to  tunnel  out,  the  earth  caving  in  upon  him.  Two  nearly 
finished  tunnels  discovered  by  the  rebs  to-day.  Search 
ing  for  tunnels  has  become  a  daily  task  for  the  rebs ;  they 
go  about  the  camp  poking  their  heads  into  tents,  etc.,  on 
the  hunt. 

"'June  2oth.  My  clothes  are  giving  out  and  I  am 
obliged  to  do  some  mending  to-day.  Thank  God  for  the 
preservation  of  my  sewing-case,  with  a  good  supply  of 
needles  and  thread !  the  use  of  it  excites  pleasant  thoughts 
of  home  and  dear  ones,  which  help  to  relieve  the  surround 
ing  gloom.  Heavy  rain  soaked  us  again ;  these  continued 
rains  are  making  sad  work  with  the  sick.  Mud  walls  are 
crumbling,  and  dug-outs  are  filled  with  water,  while  the 
would-be  occupants  sit  outside  in  mute  despair.  Felt  ill 
to-day. 

"'June  2 1 st.  Passed  a  poor  night  and  have  felt  weak 
and  lank  to-day.  Raiders  were  plenty  about  camp  last 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  339 

night ;  the  cry  of  "  robbers  !  thieves !  murder  !  "  testified 
to  some  helpless  one  being  their  victim. 

"'June  22d.  Weak  and  drowsy  to-day.  I  made  some 
tea  from  white  oak  bark  for  medical  relief. 

"  'June  26th.  The  first  day  for  a  week  that  I  have  felt 
well.  Did  some  washing.  Weather  scalding  hot.  Report 
circulated  that  we  are  to  be  paroled ;  it  sent  a  gleam  of 
hope  over  the  camp.  Got  another  man  into  the  hospital. 
More  prisoners  in  to-day.  Have  drawn  rations  of  fresh 
meat  the  past  three  days,  a  pleasing  change  from  hog  and 
hominy.  It  is  generally  well  cooked,  but  here  and  there 
a  piece  comes  raw  or  burned  to  shoe  leather. 

" '  June  28th.  Sent  another  man  to  the  hospital.  Eight 
hundred  more  Yanks  in  to-day.  Heavy  thunder  shower 
just  at  night.  It  has  been  a  busy  week,  I  have  had  to 
draw  rations  for  the  whole  detachment ;  but  I  thank  God 
for  thus  having  plenty  to  do;  I  feel  it  a  great  aid  in  keep 
ing  cheerful  amid  so  much  that  is  depressing  in  our  prison 
life.  I  cannot  be  too  thankful  also  for  the  extra  rations 
allowed  to  those  of  us  in  charge  of  detachments,  for  with 
the  increasing  number  of  the  sick,  I  have,  on  some  days, 
extras  (beyond  my  own  and  tent  mates'  needs)  for  distri 
bution  among  the  needy  ones  about  us.  I  have  made 
some  meal  vinegar,  by  soaking  meal  in  the  sun  until  fer 
mented,  when  quite  a  palatable  drink  is  made,  which  is  a 
valuable  preventive  of  scurvy. 

"  '  Stirring  scenes  in  camp  just  at  dark.  A  reb  lieutenant 
and  guard  came  in,  and  proceeded  with  fixed  bayonets  to 
arrest  some  of  the  raiders.  Their  doings  of  late  have 
become  so  heartless  as  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  commandant 
of  the  prison,  and  he  now  proposes  to  clear  them  out  and 
to  punish  the  ringleaders.  Frequently  within  the  past  week 
they  have  carried  on  their  operations  in  broad  daylight,  in 
open  defiance  of  the  peacefully  disposed.  Noticing  a 


34°  HISTORY    OF   THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

crowd  gathered  one  day  last  week  I  pressed  through  it 
and  found  a  young  cavalryman  had  just  been  robbed  of 
his  pocket-book  and  watch ;  he  was  begging  with  tears  for 
the  watch,  a  present  from  his  dead  mother,  but  in  vain ; 
and  more  than  one  of  us  standing  about  him  felt  like 
pitching  in  "to  the  rescue,"  but  the  ugly  looks  of  the 
dozen  or  more  raiders,  who  encircled  him,  cowed  us, 
perhaps  to  our  shame.  But  now,  with  the  rebel  guard 
behind  us,  the  tables  were  turned,  and  from  one  end  to 
the  other  of  the  camp  rang  the  cries,  "  Here's  one ! " 
"Here's  one  !  "  "  Here  they  are  !  "  and  soon  about  fifty 
were  taken  to  the  guard-house.  Of  these,  fifteen  of  the 
most  notorious  were  retained  and  the  rest  sent  into 
camp,  but  only  to  meet  the  long  pent-up  vengeance  of 
their  fellow  prisoners,  who  obliged  them  to  run  a  gauntlet 
of  clubs  and  switches  not  over  tenderly  applied.  Their 
tents  were  confiscated  ;  in  them  were  found  dirk-knives, 
billies  and  other  murderous  weapons,  watches  by  dozens 
and  trinkets  of  various  kinds,  many  of  which  were  iden 
tified  and  restored  to  their  owners. 

"'June  3oth.  The  raiders  were  completely  cleared  out 
to-day;  near  a  hundred  have  been  taken  in  all.  After 
their  arrest  Captain  Wirz  called  us  sergeants  before  him, 
and  addressed  us  concerning  the  disposal  of  them,  advising 
a  drum-head  court-martial,  and  promising  that  whatever 
method  of  punishment  should  be  decided  upon  he  would 
see  it  faithfully  executed.  As  a  result  a  jury,  judge  advo 
cate,  etc.,  were  selected,  and  a  regular  military  court  (in 
form)  was  organized,  before  which  the  statements  of  wit 
nesses  are  to  be  taken  in  writing. 

" '  July  3^.  The  past  three  days  have  witnessed  an 
agreeable  change  in  our  prison  life.  For  some  time  past 
the  rebs  have  been  making  an  addition  to  our  domain  on 
the  north  side ;  yesterday  the  news  came  that  it  was  fin- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  341 

ished  and  that  all  detachments  above  number  48  were  to 
be  moved  to  the  new  ground;  truly  there  was  joy  in  the 
camp.  The  removal  was  made  in  a  bungling  manner, 
showing  again  lack  of  orderly  and  military  system  of 
doing  business  among  the  officials ;  for  instead  of  having 
a  comfortable  opening  for  our  egress  made  in  the  old 
stockade,  we  were  required  to  crowd  through  a  space 
_  scarce  wide  enough  for  two  abreast,  to  say  nothing  of  our 
loads  of  baggage,  every  scrap  of  which  we  clung  to  as  a 
miser  to  his  gold.  Then  instead  of  having  the  new  lots 
properly  staked  off,  and  each  detachment  upon  its  pre 
scribed  lot,  we  were  all  ordered  to  move  at  once,  and  were 
told  that  "  unless  we  were  upon  the  new  ground  in  two 
hours  our  blankets  would  be  confiscated."  And  again, 
instead  of  having  the  loppings  from  the  trees,  of  which 
the  stockade  was  made,  properly  portioned  out  to  each 
detachment,  each  was  allowed  to  gobble  all  it  could ;  so 
that  between  the  crowding  to  get  through,  rushing  for  the 
best  positions,  and  struggling  to  heap  up  piles  of  brush 
wood,  the  scene  was  almost  a  pandemonium,  and  not  a 
few  free  fights  were  had  over  disputed  ground  or  fire-wood. 
I  succeeded  in  getting  most  of  my  ninety  together,  fortu 
nately  upon  a  good  spot.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  be  able  to 
move  about  freely,  and  not  have  to  watch  lest  you  tread 
upon  somebody's  shebang,  or  fall  into  some  underground 
lodging  place. 

'"July  4th.  Woke  with  thoughts  of  home,  inspired  by 
"the  day  we  celebrate."  For  the  past  two  weeks  I  have 
been  saving  up  the  extra  rations  allowed  me  of  meal  and 
rice,  we  four  having  determined  to  have  a  Fourth  of  July 
dinner,  if  possible.  The  extra  rations  have  at  times  been 
liberal,  so  that  by  scrimping  a  little  we  saved  what,  put 
upon  the  market,  brought  us  the  sum  of  two  dollars  and 
seventy  cents.  With  this  we  concluded  to  have  a  bean 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

soup.  We  purchased  of  the  reb  sutler  two  onions  for 
sixty-five  cents,  six  potatoes  for  eighty  cents,  a  red  pepper 
for  twenty-five  cents,  one  and  one-half  pints  of  beans  for 
thirty-five  cents,  and  pork  for  forty  cents.  We  had  a  jolly 
time  cooking  it,  and  smacked  our  lips  as  heartily  in  eating 
it  as  ever  at  any  Fourth  of  July  in  the  Old  Bay  State. 

"'July  icth.  Another  busy  clay.  I  have  from  six  to  ten 
hours  work  daily,  in  drawing  rations  and  distributing  them, 
looking  after  the  sick,  etc.,  so  that  with  the  daily  task  of 
"skirmishing"  for  vermin  and  keeping  clean  not  many 
idle  moments  remain.  Have  felt  weak  from  the  heat  and 
diarrhoea  some  of  the  time.  Several  new  lots  of  prisoners 
have  come  in.  I  have  had  sad  and  trying  times  with  the 
sick  —  two  more  have  died  and  ten  others  are  in  a  bad  way. 
The  surgeons  have  been  without  medicines  for  the  past 
five  days.  The  hospital  is  crowded  to  overflowing,  and 
many  sick  are  obliged  to  lie  and  waste  away  without  any 
thing  being  done  for  them.  It  is  amazing  to  see  the  lack 
of  humanity  on  the  part  of  the  reb  officials,  for  many  of 
us  think  that  the  "  Dutch  Captain  "  is  not  the  only  guilty 
party.  It  seems  to  us  that  with  a  little  energy  on  their 
part  shelter  from  the  blazing  sun  could  be  provided  from 
the  surrounding  forests.  Many  a  man  comes  in  here  hale 
and  hearty,  but  robbed  of  his  tent  and  blanket  soon  gets 
weak  from  exposure  to  the  sun  and  chill  night  air,  and 
falls  an  easy  victim  to  disease.  Oh,  how  often  does  the 
angel  of  death  seem  to  be  an  angel  of  mercy  to  such 
suffering  ones ! 

"  *  Yesterday  was  the  first  time  for  five  days  that  sick- 
call  has  been  sounded.  It  brought  together,  it  seems  to 
me,  the  saddest  sight  I  have  yet  seen  in  the  prison.  Be 
tween  four  and  five  hundred  crowded  the  streets  and  by 
paths  leading  to  the  gate ;  more  than  half  of  them  assisted 
by  their  comrades,  and  scores  lugged  in  blankets  exposed 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  343 

to  the  blazing  sun.  Some  died  on  the  way,  and  many  were 
sunstruck.  The  process  of  inspection  by  the  surgeons  was 
a  slow  one,  and  when  about  three-fourths  were  examined 
word  came  that  "  no  more  can  be  attended  to,"  and  so 
back  to  quarters  under  the  noonday  sun,  hobbled,  crawled 
or  were  borne  the  balance,  with  their  hopes  of  something 
being  done  for  their  relief  dashed  from  them. 

"  'July  i2th.  Yesterday  witnessed  the  strange,  sad  scene 
of  the  hanging  of  six  of  the  ringleaders  of  the  raiders,  found 
guilty  of  murder  and  robbery,  and  condemned  to  death  on 
the  gallows.  From  the  moment  of  the  appearance  of  the 
rebel  guard  with  lumber  for  the  gallows  till  their  bodies 
swung  cold  in  death  and  were  removed,  the  camp  presented 
an  unnatural  and  solemn  quiet.  Since  their  arrest  a  reg 
ular  police  has  been  formed,  made  up  of  our  own  members. 
Into  their  hands  the  six  were  consigned  by  Captain  Wirz^ 
with  a  statement  of  the  finding  and  sentence  of  the  court- 
martial,  and  that  to  their  hands  and  their  fellow  prisoners 
he  committed  the  responsibility  of  its  execution.  The  day 
was  one  of  the  few  when  the  sun  seemed  to  abate  its 
intense  heat  and  was  clear  and  cool.  The  part  of  the 
camp  affording  a  view  of  the  gallows  was  black  with 
humanity,  and  as  the  hour  (half  past  four)  drew  near  a 
solemn  stillness  came  over  all.  On  the  way  to  the  gallows 
one  broke  away  and  frantically  rushed  across  the  swamp 
in  an  attempt  to  escape,  but  in  vain.  At  the  above  hour 
they  were  arranged  upon  the  platform,  with  meal  sacks 
over  their  heads,  and  at  the  signal  the  drop  fell  and  they 
met  their  doom. 

"  '  Not  a  few  debates  have  been  had  upon  the  justifiable- 
ness  of  this  affair,  but,  with  a  few  exceptions  made  up  of 
their  fellow  conspirators,  the  universal  judgment  of  the 
camp  has  been  that  it  was  but  their  just  deserts ;  their 
conduct  here  was  probably  but  a  continuation  of  a  life  of 


344  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

blackness  and  crime  entered  upon  before  the  war.  The 
police  are  doing  good  duty,  and  many  abuses  about  the 
camp  are  corrected.  Sent  two  more  of  the  ninety  to  the 
hospital  to-day.  The  remaining  nine  of  the  raiders  have 
been  sentenced  to  the  stocks  for  a  season  before  being 
allowed  back  to  camp.  These  stocks  have  been  most  of 
the  time  filled  with  those  who  have  attempted  to  escape 
while  out  with  the  wood  squads,  or  for  other  misdemeanors. 

"'July  lyth.  Sunday.  Up  to  our  removal  to  our  new 
quarters  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  note  the  Sabbath 
from  our  week-day  routine,  but  to-cfey,  with  the  privilege 
of  open  space,  many  gatherings  for  worship,  prayer  and 
conference  have  been  held  about  the  camp.  Very  touching 
have  been  the  prayers  offered,  mainly  for  loved  ones  at 
home.  The  only  noteworthy  event  of  the  past  week  has 
been  the  calling  of  the  sergeants  of  detachments  out  before 
Captain  Wirz,  who,  in  language  anything  but  courteous, 
informed  us  of  an  organized  attempt  to  break  out  of  the 
stockade.  He  warned  us  against  the  attempt,  saying  that 
if  we  tried  it  he  should  open  fire  with  grape  and  canister, 
and  the  slaughter  of  the  sick  and  feeble  would  be  terrible, 
and  would  be  laid  to  our  charge.  We  think  that  no  such 
design  has  been  contemplated,  and  that  it  is  a  ruse  of  the 
"  Dutch  Captain"  to  frighten  us  from  it.  We  now  number 
30,000,  and  as  our  guards  are  only  raw  recruits  and  con 
scripts,  many  of  us  believe  that,  were  it  not  for  the  sick 
and  feeble,  our  escape  on  a  grand  scale  could  be  easily 
effected.  I  feel  like  trying  my  hand  at  tunnelling,  rather 
than  remain  here  for  the  winter. 

"'July  24th.  Two  years  yesterday  since  I  enlisted. 
Little  did  I  think  that  a  part  of  my  three  years'  service 
was  to  be  spent  as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Two  months  of 
prison  life,  and  health  and  strength  still  remain  to  me. 
The  past  week  has  brought  many  recruits  to  our  numbers, 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  345 

so  that  the  whole  stockade  is  again  crowded.  The  number 
of  the  weak  and  sick  is  on  the  increase,  and  the  rebs 
report  that  they  are  kept  on  short  allowance  of  medicines 
needful  for  their  relief.  What  medicines  they  do  have 
seem  to  afford  but  little  aid  against  the  diseases  springing 
from  constant  warfare  with  hunger,  nakedness,  bad  water 
and  lack  of  vegetable  food. 

"  '  August  yth.  I  have  been  very  busy  with  work  incident 
to  the  increasing  number  of  sick  in  the  ninety.  Many  of 
the  worst  cases  have  been  taken  to  the  hospital.  On  the 
morning  of  the  fourth,  word  came  that  all  the  worst  cases 
in  camp  be  brought  to  the  gate,  and  that  from  them  a 
large  number  would  be  taken  out  to  the  hospital.  On  the 
strength  of  this  thousands  crowded  in  a  dense  mass  in  the 
streets  and  by-paths  leading  to  the  gate,  some  hobbling 
there,  some  literally  crawling  on  hands  and  knees,  and 
hundreds,  too  weak  to  hobble  and  crawl,  were  carried  in 
blankets  by  comrades.  But  all  in  vain,  for  at  ten  A.  M. 
came  word  that  "  no  more  would  be  taken  out  to-day." 
The  next  morning  came  the  word  again,  and  those  who 
were  able  were  again  in  waiting,  many  with  glad  and 
expectant  faces,  feeling  that,  whatever  the  change  in  store 
for  them,  at  least  it  could  bring  them  to  no  worse  condition. 
But  again  came  word  that  no  more  would  be  taken  out  till 
two  P.  M.  At  two  it  was  announced  that  the  sick  from  the 
first  eleven  detachments  only  would  be  taken.  Pencil 
cannot  picture  the  despairing  faces  nor  words  describe 
the  sad  scenes  incident  to  these  two  days'  gatherings  of 
the  sick  of  Andersonville  Prison,  especially  as  this  last 
word  came,  and  those  who  were  able  hobbled  or  were 
borne  back  to  their  quarters.  Many  were  sunstruck ;  a 
dozen  or  more  died  while  waiting  or  on  the  way,  among 
them  one  of  my  ninety,  while  waiting  the  second  day.  He 
had  been  wasting  from  diarrhoea,  and  had  become  a  sad 


346  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

and  loathsome  spectacle,  of  whom  it  might  be  said  in  truth 
before  death  released  him,  "he  was  eaten  of  worms."  The 
Good  Book  says,  "  Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick," 
and  truly  might  it  be  said  of  scores  about  the  camp,  who 
have  up  to  this  day  fought  a  good  fight  with  hunger,  naked 
ness  and  disease ;  they  are  now  hopeless,  heart-sick  and 
discouraged.  The  indignation  in  the  camp  at  this  need 
less  cruelty  to  the  suffering  is  intense,  and  many  of  us  feel 
that  were  Captain  Wirz  to  come  into  camp  unattended  he 
would  be  torn  limb  from  limb. 

'"August  1 4th.  The  number  of  sick  still  increases. 
We  have  had  heavy  rains,  which  with  the  scorching  sun 
have  brought  increased  suffering.  None  have  been  taken 
to  the  hospital ;  no  medicines  have  been  given  out.  Even 
the  supply  of  so  simple  an  article  as  vinegar,  of  great  ser 
vice  in  scurvy,  has  ceased.  The  ravages  of  this  disease 
are  terrible;  many  are  going  about  the  camp  with  bleeding 
mouths  and  their  teeth  actually  falling  out.  The  death 
rate  has  increased  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  per  day.  Five 
more  have  died  of  the  ninety,  making  thirteen  during  our 
nine  weeks'  stay.  I  cannot  be  too  thankful  for  having  so 
much  to  do  to  occupy  my  thoughts  and  time.  I  notice 
that  those  prisoners  who  keep  busy  stand  it  the  best. 
Many  are  the  devices  to  keep  from  idleness,  such  as 
tearing  clown  and  rebuilding  their  mud  huts,  digging  for 
roots  for  fuel,  well  digging,  tunnelling,  carving  knicknacks 
out  of  bones  hoarded  from  their  meat  rations,  patching 
their  clothing,  etc.  Not  a  few  packs  of  cards  have  strag 
gled  into  camp,  and  many  checker-boards  have  been  made. 
These  are  freely  lent,  and  from  dawn  till  dark  groups  can 
be  seen  all  about  the  camp,  and  the  merry  laugh  shows 
that  not  all  is  dreary  and  dark.  Many  a  well-worn  Bible 
and  Testament  can  be  seen  in  constant  use  going  from  one 
to  another.  An  occasional  copy  of  some  rebel  newspaper 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  347 

is  thrown  in  by  the  guard,  which  is  read  till  worn  to  shreds. 
I  was  both  glad  and  sorry  to  come  across  my  old  friend 
and  Christian  brother,  D.  F.  Nichols,  from  Dedham,  a 
member  of  the  Eighteenth  Massachusetts.  I  found  he 
had  been  here  nearly  a  year,  and,  though  somewhat  weak, 
is  battling  bravely  for  life.  He  has  been  a  help  to  many 
in  the  plying  of  his  trade  as  a  shoemaker,  and  has  kindly 
repaired  my  nearly  worn-out  shoes. 

" '  I  was  surprised  one  morning  to  find  Pratt  absent 
from  his  place;  this  was  explained  by  his  soon  putting 
in  an  appearance,  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  red 
clay,  which  plainly  said  "  tunnelling."  He  has  with  others 
started  a  tunnel  from  the  inside  of  a  neighboring  hut ;  they 
have  obtained  boards,  with  which  they  bridge  over  the 
opening  during  the  day,  covering  them  with  earth  and 
pine  boughs,  so  that  the  tunnel-hunting  rebs  will  see 
nothing  should  they  poke  their  heads  into  the  place. 

"4  August  2 1 st.  The  weather  has  been  warm  and  very 
trying  to  sick  and  well.  The  death  rate  holds  its  own ; 
three  out  of  the  ninety  have  died.  Among  them  Israel 
Roach,  of  Company  F,  of  our  regiment.  It  was  with 
tearful  eyes  we  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  bore  his  remains  to 
the  gate,  pinned  the  scrap  of  paper  denoting  his  name 
and  regiment  upon  his  breast,  and  delivered  them  to  the 
stolid  rebel  guard.  I  have  had  many  pleasant  chats  with 
him  during  our  prison  days.  He  had,  I  think,  typhoid 
fever,  and  was  delirious  in  his  last  hours.  Two  or  three 
times  a  day  now  can  be  seen  the  "dead-wagon  "  —  an  old 
army  wagon  rigged  with  stakes  and  railing,  into  which  are 
piled  our  dead  comrades,  as  a  farmer  would  pile  a  load  of 
wood  —  drawn  by  four  mules  around  the  south-west  corner 
of  the  stockade  to  the  final  resting  place.  One  cannot 
but  feel  as  he  looks  upon  those  about  him  struggling  to 
live,  that  no  battle-field  of  the  war  or  hospital  scene  can 


348  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

show  grander  examples  of  patient,  heroic  endurance.  One 
at  least  of  the  reb  surgeons  has  sympathy  for  us;  he  ex 
pressed  his  indignation  at  the  fact  that  so  little  vegetable 
food  was  allowed  us,  and  said  that  he  begged  of  Captain 
Wirz  the  use  of  an  army  wagon  with  which  to  go  into  the 
adjacent  country  and  get  sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  for  the  pris 
oners,  and  had  been  refused. 

" '  In  one  thing  Divine  Providence  has  richly  blessed 
us ;  it  seems  almost  a  miracle  wrought  for  our  comfort. 
This  is  the  opening  of  a  copious  spring  just  above  the 
marsh,  and  between  the  dead-line  and  the  stockade.  We 
noticed  it  gushing  forth,  just  after  a  very  heavy  shower ; 
the  attention  of  the  reb  officials  was  called  to  it,  and  many 
of  us  think  they  must  have  forgotten  themselves,  for  they 
furnished  some  troughs  and  two  half-barrels,  into  which 
the  water  was  conducted  just  clear  of  the  dead-line.  The 
water  flows  clear  and  cool,  and  quite  freely,  so  that  the 
barrels  are  kept  full,  though  drawn  upon  as  fast  as  in  line 
we  fill  our  cups,  tin  pails,  coffee  pots,  etc. 

"  '  We  realize  as  weeks  go  by  that  our  clothing  will  wear 
out,  and  that  we  cannot  make  a  requisition  on  the  quarter 
master.  Some  of  us  sergeants  of  nineties  have  found  we 
can  do  a  little  stealing  from  the  Confederacy,  Our  rations 
of  meal  and  rice  are  brought  to  us  in  twilled  cotton  sacks, 
delivered  late  in  the  afternoon,  and  we  are  required  to 
return  the  sacks  when  we  draw  rations  the  next  day.  We 
have  noticed  that  often,  when  late  or  in  a  pouring  rain,  the 
reb  commissary,  as  the  sacks  were  thrown  up  to  him  on 
the  wagon,  would  not  stop  to  count  them.  Watching 
for  our  chances,  we  would  keep  back  one  or  more.  I 
have  succeeded  in  capturing  some  half  dozen,  from 
which  I  undertook  to  make  a  shirt,  but  had  to  give  it 
up  and  content  myself  with  patching  my  old  ones. 
The  other  sacks  did  excellent  duty  on  needy  comrades. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS,  349 

We  have  not  stopped  to  consider  the  morality  of  the 
transaction. 

"  'As  each  squad  of  Yanks  comes  in,  they  are  portioned 
out  among  the  nineties,  taking  the  place  of  the  dead  and 
those  who  are  transferred  to  the  hospital.  I  find,  on 
looking  over  my  roster,  that  I  have  men  from  every  state 
in  the  Union  but  two. 

"  '  The  tunnel  upon  which  Pratt  and  his  comrades  have 
been  laboring,  and  which  they  hoped  to  finish  in  a  few 
days,  has  come  to  an  untimely  end.  To  their  dismay  the 
rebel  tunnel-squad  marched  directly  to  the  spot  and  poked 
their  heads  into  the  "shebang,"  but  were  evidently  discon 
certed  at  'finding  no  hole;  but  soon  one  of  them  said: 
"  This  is  the  place,  I  know  it  is,"  and  getting  a  club  and 
beating  on  the  spot  the  hollow  sound  revealed  the  secret, 
and  then  the  order,  "  Pull  down  the  hut ! "  was  obeyed, 
and  poor  Pratt's  toils  were  ended.  Reports  are  current 
that  the  rebs  have  spies  about  the  camp  night  and  day, 
but  Pratt  thinks  that  some  fellow  has  turned  informer,  for 
it  is  asserted  that  the  reward  of  a  lot  of  tobacco,  or  a  posi 
tion  as  nurse  in  the  hospital,  is  ready  for  any  one  who  will 
give  notice  of  attempts  at  tunnelling. 

"'September  i8th.  Early  in  the  month  barracks  were 
erected  on  the  north  side  of  the  prison.  During  the  past 
week  numbers  of  prisoners  have  been  taken  out ;  reports 
are  conflicting  as  to  their  destination ;  at  one  time  that  an 
exchange  is  going  on,  which  causes  hope,  but  which  is 
soon  changed  to  gloom,  as  the  report  comes  that  we  are 
to  be  removed  to  a  new  stockade.  Reports  are  flying 
about  that  Sherman  is  near. 

'"Our  detachment  received  orders,  September  12,  to  be 
in  readiness  to  move  the  next  morning.  At  daylight  we 
were  packed  and  at  the  gate.  Word  came  that  we  would 
not  be  transferred  until  night,  and  soon  again  that  an 


350  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

accident  had  occurred  by  which  seven  of  our  men  had 
been  killed  and  the  track  torn  up  j  so,  for  a  week,  we 
have  been  waiting  patiently,  hoping  each  new  day  would 
let  us  out.  The  sick  have  been  placed  in  the  .barracks, 
where  they  have  good  shelter  from  the  sun  and  rain. 
They  suffer  much  from  want  of  proper  food,  as  their 
rations  are,  in  the  main,  the  same  as  are  given  to  the 
rest  of  the  camp.  Occasionally  they  have  a  little  flour 
and  cooked  rice  —  this  latter  often  most  miserably  pre 
pared,  often  mere  slops,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  scorched 
to  a  crisp. 

"  'Our  rations  have  been  cut  down  a  little,  and  the  meal, 
a  good  deal  of  the  time,  is  of  a  miserable  quality,  nothing 
but  "  cob-meal "  we  say,  and,  to  devour  it,  not  a  little  sput 
tering  has  to  be  done  to  get  rid  of  the  bits  of  husk,  silk 
and  cracked  corn  mixed  with  the  better  portion.  Our 
varying  rations  are  bacon,  meal,  molasses  and  beans  — 
the  latter  long  harvested,  and  often  flavored  with  the 
bugs  or  insects  which  "have  found  them  a  good  place  for 
tunnelling. 

" '  October  2d.  Two  weeks  more  in  the  Pine  Log  Prison. 
I  succeeded,  near  the  last  of  the  month,  in  getting  all  of 
the  sick  of  the  ninety  into  the  barracks  —  Steele  and  Taber 
of  our  regiment  among  them ;  both  were  sick  with  scurvy. 
Patches  of  the  latter  have  developed  upon  my  legs ;  but 
so  long  as  they  do  not  swell  I  do  not  feel  anxious.  I  have 
felt  lonesome  and  depressed  at  times  during  the  past  two 
weeks.  For  nearly  a  month  we  have  been  waiting  and  are 
ready  to  go  anywhere ;  to  get  to  a  worse  place  would  be 
scarcely  possible. 

"'October  nth.  Nine  days  since  writing  in  my  diary. 
We  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  move  on  the  fifth,  and 
late  in  the  afternoon  the  gates  swung  open  and  about  one 
thousand  of  us  marched  out  into  what  we  felt  was  God's 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  351 

world  again.  How  cheering  was  the  sight  of  the  green 
grass  !  I  felt  almost  like  kissing  it  for  joy.  We  were  two 
nights  and  one  day  in  crowded  box  cars,  and  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  seventh  landed  outside  the  city  of  Savannah. 
On  the  way  we  passed,  drawn  up  on  a  siding,  a  train  load 
of  returning  rebel  prisoners.  The  contrast  between  their 
sleek  faces  and  seemingly  comfortable  clothing  and  our 
blackened  faces  and  tattered  rags,  we  at  least  could  see. 
Cheers  we  gave  them  as  they  generously  tossed  us  some 
of  Uncle  Sam's  hard  tack. 

"  *  We   were  ushered  into  another  stockade,  and  siven 

o 

rations  of  fresh  beef  and  sweet  potatoes.  We  have  been 
divided  into  detachments  of  one  hundred,  over  one  of 
which  I  have  been  placed.  Our  mess  is  broken  up  by  the 
escape  of  Lord  while  en  route.  We  think  it  a  vain  attempt, 
and  expect  to  see  him  back.  Our  stay  here  is  evidently 
to  be  but  temporary,  but  the  four  days  improved  rations 
are  already  having  a  marked  effect  for  good.  I  was  told 
that  eating  raw  fresh  meat  was  goo'd  for  scurvy,  and  have 
accordingly  eaten  a  good-sized  piece  each  day,  with  good 
effect  upon  my  legs.  Scores  of  citizens  climb  to  the  top 
of  the  stockade  and  look  down  upon  us,  with  evident,  and 
in  many  instances  expressed,  sympathy,  in  the  shape  of 
second-hand  clothing,  tobacco,  etc.,  thrown  in  to  us. 

'"October  iyth.  Another  change,  and,  thus  far,  an 
agreeable  one.  As  we  prophesied,  Lord  was  recaptured 
and  brought  into  Savannah,  but,  unfortunately,  placed  in  a 
different  detachment.  On  the  thirteenth  we  were  moved 
about  eighty  miles  to  a  newly-built  stockade,  near  Millen, 
Ga.  Thus  far  we  can  find  no  fault  with  our  quarters  and 
but  little  with  our  rations,  which  are  near  double  the 
amount  of  those  at  Andersonville.  We  draw  one  pint  of 
meal,  six  ounces  of  uncooked  beef,  teaspoonful  of  salt,  six 
teaspoonfuls  of  rice,  each  day,  also  sweet  potatoes  two  or 


352  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

three  times  a  week — the  rice  some  days  changed  for  beans, 
but  the  latter  so  buggy  we  get  pretty  hungry  before  we  eat 
them.  Our  prison  lot  contains  forty-two  acres,  and  as 
there  are  present  but  about  eight  thousand  of  us,  we  have 
a  chance  to  spread  out  without  hinderance.  It  is  christened 
Camp  Lawton,  has  a  fine  stream  running  through  it,  several 
rods  of  which  are  reserved  for  drinking  purposes,  another 
section  with  a  gravelly  bottom  for  bathing,  another  section 
for  the  washing  of  clothes,  and  the  last  section  as  a  sewer. 
Over  this  latter  are  built  water-closet  facilities,  contrasting 
favorably  with  the  horribly  filthy  arrangements  of  Ander- 
sonville. 

" '  As  we  marched  upon  the  ground  we  were  divided  into 
thousands,  subdivided  into  hundreds,  and  located  in  mili 
tary  order.  Ten  brick  ovens  have  been  built,  ten  large 
iron  kettles  set  in  place,  and  the  cooking  for  each  thousand 
is  to  be  done  independently.  A  large  number  of  iron 
kettles,  holding  two  gallons,  have  been  given  us.  The 
officer  in  charge  appears  to  be  a  gentleman  as  well  as  a 
soldier,  and  does  his  duty  for  our  comfort.  We  question, 
why  this  change  of  rations  and  treatment  from  that  of 
Andersonville,  and  think  that  Jeff  Davis  or  General  Winder, 
or  somebody,  has  repented  of  evil  deeds,  and  is  now  doing 
works  meet  for  repentance.  Thirty  of  each  hundred 
have  been  permitted  to  go  out  for  boughs  for  bedding. 
Out  of  the  debris  remaining  from  the  building  of  the  stock 
ade  our  mess  are  building  quarters,  ready  for  cold  weather, 
if  need  be.  Our  few  axes  are  kept  going  from  dawn 
till  dark. 

" '  October  3Oth.  We  have  had  two  busy  weeks  working 
on  our  "prison-house,"  and  have  got  up  quite  roomy  and 
comfortable  quarters.  Thanks  to  the  fresh  meat  and  sweet 
potatoes  many  of  us  have  been  cured  of  scurvy.  Medicines 
are  scarce  and  the  cool  weather  is  telling  upon  the  feeble 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  353 

and  those  who  are  poorly  clad.  The  death  rate  has 
increased  to  four  or  five  per  day.  An  unoccupied  part  of 
camp  is  used  for  a  ball  ground,  and  many  games  are  had 
these  sunny  October  days.  We  hear  nothing  of  exchange, 
and  many  bitter  words  against  our  government  are  spoken 
as  our  rations  decrease,  and  it  looks  like  Andersonville 
over  again  in  that  direction.  Some  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  have  taken  the  oath  to  serve  the  Confederacy, 
doubtless  from  varying  motives ;  but,  to  most  of  us,  no 
motive  can  justify  the  transaction. 

'"November  2oth.  Have  had  frosty  nights,  and  the 
autumn  foliage  of  the  surrounding  forests  makes  one  think 
of  his  Northern  home.  Smith  parted  with  a  couple  of  his 
rings  for  meal  sacks,  from  which  we  obtained  material  for 
patching.  Truly  can  we  say  that  not  only  have  we  coats 
of  many  colors,  but  shirts  and  trousers  ditto.  On  election 
day  the  rebs  proposed  to  us  that  we  have  an  election,  and 
express  our  choice  for  Lincoln  or  McClellan.  We  Lincoln 
men  felt  in  doubt  as  to  the  result,  as  so  many  were  bitter 
against  the  government  for  not  effecting  an  exchange. 
Differently  colored  beans  were  used  for  ballots,  and  at 
sunset  the  result  was  announced:  3014  for  Lincoln,  1050 
for  McClellan.  Not  much  comfort  for  the  rebs,  we  thought. 
An  exchange  has  at  last  reached  us,  and  two  lots  of  the 
sick  have  been  sent  away,  this  time  indeed  and  in  truth 
en  route  to  our  own  lines.  It  is  touching  to  witness  the 
joy  of  the  poor  fellows  as  at  last  they  could  feel  certain 
that  they  were  "going  home."  Some  detestable  business 
was  done  by  some  of  the  reb  surgeons  and  our  own  men  in 
the  matter.  The  surgeon  would  examine  a  sick  man  and 
pronounce  him  a  fit  subject  for  exchange,  then  go  and  sell 
the  poor  man's  chance  to  some  perhaps  nearly  well  man, 
for  money  or  other  gift. 

" '  November    28th.      The    past  eight   days  have  been 


354  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

fruitful  in  change.  For  some  days  rumors  crept  into  camp 
that  General  Sherman  was  near.  On  the  twenty-second, 
long  trains  of  box  cars  were  in  sight  from  the  prison,  and 
word  came  to  "pack  up  and  be  ready  to  move."  Cold, 
raw,  and  drizzly  without,  most  of  us  were  in  our  shelters, 
and  the  order  to  turn  out  was  no  agreeable  one  to  us  in 
our  rags,  and  having  no  hope  of  exchange.  Some  tried  to 
hide  in  their  quarters,  burying  themselves  beneath  their 
bedding  of  pine  boughs.  This  was  soon  discovered,  and  a 
rebel  bayonet  thrust  in  their  faces  scattered  their  hopes  of 
staying  behind  to  welcome  Sherman.  We  were  hastily 
crowded  into  the  box  cars,  almost  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  for  upon  some  of  us  protesting  that  "this  car  is 
full,"  we  were  made  to  see  that  there  was  room  for  more 
by  a  bayonet  charge.  The  cold  increased,  as  a  few  scatter 
ing  snow-flakes  plainly  told  us.  All  night  and  until  ten 
the  next  night  getting  over  the  eighty  miles  to  Savannah  — 
now  waiting  for  hours  at  some  siding,  or  backing  and  filling 
at  some  rising  grade,  to  get  our  heavily  freighted  train 
along.  Midnight  of  the  twenty-third  found  us  massed  in 
one  of  the  vacant  squares  in  the  city  of  Savannah,  chilled 
to  the  bone  with  the  cold,  weak  and  faint  from  hunger. 

"  '  We  lay  down  in  heaps  to  keep  warm.  Those  of  us 
from  Massachusetts  talked  of  the  morrow  (Thursday)  as 
probably  Thanksgiving  Day  in  the  Old  Bay  State.  I  went 
to  sleep  with  mind  and  heart  busy  with  thoughts  of  the  glad 
old  Thanksgiving  days  of  the  past,  and  "  Lo  !  I  dreamed  a 
dream."  I  was  at  home,,  sitting  at  my  mother's  table, 
alone,  clothed  in  my  prison  rags,  and  before  me  a  large 
turkey,  cranberry  sauce,  etc.,  I  grasped  the  carving  knife 
to  help  myself  and  —  woke  to  find  that  the  gray  November 
clouds  had  gone,  the  stars  were  glittering  overhead,  and  I 
was  cold  and  hungry. 

" '  We  remained  through  the  twenty-fourth  at  Savannah. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  355 

Rations  of  hard  tack  were  given  us.  A  few  friendly  citizens 
brought  us  extras  in  the  shape  of  cold  victuals.  The  guard 
treated  us  well.  One  train  load  was  sent  off,  destined,  we 
were  told,  for  Florida.  No  exchange  for  us  now,  we  felt. 
Into  box  cars  again  on  the  twenty-fifth,  and  at  nine  P.  M. 
en  route  for  Charleston,  S.  C.  A  tedious  journey,  most  of 
the  way  through  pine  forests  and  dismal  swamps.  The 
towns  and  villages  through  which  we  passed  spoke  plainly 
of  desolation  and  poverty.  We  were  given  rations  of 
bread  at  Charleston,  and  the  citizens  treated  us  kindly. 
Here  we  found  that  our  final  destination  was  Florence,  S. 
C.,  to  another  stockade  prison.  A  ride  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles,  tolerably  comfortable  by  day,  as  a  kindly 
Providence  favored  us.  with  bright,  mild  weather,  but  chilly 
and  dreary  at  night,  and  at  three  A.  M.  this  morning, 
twenty-eighth,  we  were  turned  into  a  field,  where  we  piled 
together  upon  the  frosty  grass  and,  overcome  by  intense 
weariness,  forgot  hunger  and  cold,  and  slept  till  the  sun 
was  above  the  horizon.  In  the  distance  we  could  discern 
our  new  prison-home  —  the  dim  outlines  of  a  stockade 
overhung  with  a  cloud  of  smoke,  through  which  the  morn 
ing  sun  seemed  hardly  to  penetrate.  We  were  soon  in  our 
new  abode,  with  failing  hearts,  questioning  ourselves  and 
each  other,  "  Can  we  stand  it  through  the  winter  ?  " —  we 
are  determined  to  try. 

" '  We  find  the  prison  to  be  on  the  same  plan  as  at 
Andersonville,  of  about  fifteen  acres,  five  of  which  are  an 
uninhabitable  swamp ;  through  the  centre  runs  a  clear  and 
rapid  stream  ;  thank  God  for  this  !  In  building  here  the 
rebs  were  wiser  than  at  Andersonville,  for  outside  the 
stockade  they  have  dug  a  deep  trench,  so  that  tunnelling 
is  scarcely  possible.  The  men  are  divided  into  thousands, 
sub-divided  into  hundreds.  Our  mess,  now  reduced  to 
Pratt  and  myself,  is  placed  in  the  fourth  hundred  of  the 


356  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

fourth  thousand ;  Smith  was  so  fortunate  as  to  go  out  with 
those  at  Millen  for  exchange.  Rations  of  about  one  pint 
of  raw  meal,  one  pint  of  flour,  and  one-half  pint  of  black 
beans,  were  given  us,  of  which  we  made  a  grand  stew, 
speedily  devoured,  and  "  licked  the  platter  clean,"  to  make 
sure  that  nothing  was  wasted.  Report  says  that  there  are 
about  twelve  thousand  in  camp.  A  squad  of  police  is  on 
duty,  made  up  of  our  own  men,  and  good  order  seems  to 
reign.  No  shelter  is  provided  by  the  rebs.  Most  of  the 
men  have  built  some  sort  of  mud  huts  ;  building  walls  of 
two  or  three  feet  and  roofing  with  blankets,  brushwood 
and  mud,  with  a  fire-place  and  chimney  at  the  front  of 
bricks  made  from  the  clay,  which,  providentially,  abounds 
in  the  prison. 

"  '  December  4.  Winter  has  come  by  the  calendar,  but 
not  as  yet  in  reality,  for  the  weather  has  been  delightful, 
so  that  we  have  needed  no  fire  for  warmth.  Wood  squads 
go  out  of  the  prison  daily,  mainly  to  cut  wood  for  the  camp ; 
some,  however,  work  for  the  reb  officers,  making  tubs, 
pails,  birch-brooms,  and  building  log  cabins.  These  squads 
give  the  "  parole  "  that  they  will  not  try  to  run  away  or  go 
more  than  one  mile  from  camp,  and  are  allowed  extra 
rations.  We  miss  the  extra  rations  of  Andersonville  and 
Millen  (I  not  being  a  detachment  sergeant  here),  and  now 
I  find  myself  hungry  and  growing  weak. 

" '  We  have  taken  a  comrade,  Hall,  into  our  mess ;  he 
has  a  good  blanket  to  add  to  our  stock.  We  have  nearly 
finished  a  good  mud  hut,  fire-place  and  chimney,  roofed 
with  our  blankets,  so  that  we  feel  quite  well  prepared  for 
winter.  A  few  sick  have  been  paroled  during  the  week. 
There  is  a  great  rush  to  get  out  on  the  work  squads,  for, 
in  addition  to  extra  rations,  they  have  opportunity  to  trade 
with  the  rebel  guard  and  the  negroes.  The  latter  come  to 
our  men,  on  the  sly,  as  they  are  at  work  in  the  woods,  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  357 

bring  sweet  potatoes,  beans,  etc.,  which  they  barter  for 
pens,  knives,  pocket-books,  buttons  —  especially  U.  S. — 
combs,  and  carved  knick-knacks  made  by  the  prisoners. 
From  these  extras  brought  into  camp  by  the  squads  quite 
a  trade  is  carried  on  inside  the  stockade.  I  have  deter 
mined  to  try  my  hand  at  it,  and  have  sold  my  quart  cup, 
tin  plate  and  a  small  kettle  for  capital.  Felt  discouraged 
to-day  in  trying  to  mend  my  ragged  clothing  —  shirt,  pants 
and  blouse  have  become  literally  "  rags  and  patches  " ;  I 
counted  fourteen  different  patches  upon  my  pants.  The 
week  closes  with  Hall  out  at  work  with  one  of  the  squads, 
which  gives  us  encouragement.  I  have  tried  to  get  out  to 
work,  and  also  upon  the  police,  but  thus  far  in  vain. 

"'December  i8th.  The  past  two  weeks  have  brought  win 
ter  weather,  a  new  factor  as  a  cause  for  suffering.  In  Ander- 
sonville  it  was  heat,  now  it  is  cold ;  and  the  past  week  has 
seen  a  dozen  or  more  poor  fellows  numbered  with  the  dead, 
with  the  verdict,  "frozen  to  death."  The  prisoners,  as  a 
whole,  are  worse  off  for  clothing  than  at  Andersonville ; 
scores  are  shoeless  and  hatless.  The  wood  furnished  for 
fuel  is  mostly  green,  and  almost  defies  our  attempts  to  get 
any  heat  from  it.  The  smoke  about  the  camp  is  suffocating, 
and  our  men  look  more  like  negroes  than  white  men.  We 
have  have  had  some  rations  of  fresh  meat,  which  have 
been  a  great  blessing  to  those  having  scurvy.  Hall  has 
been  taken  sick  and  sent  to  hospital.  We  made  four 
kettles  of  soup,  Hall  having  got  the  materials  for  it  from 
outside,  and  sold  three  with  good  success.  With  the  profit 
we  bought  some  pepper  and  salt.  The  fourth  got  sour  and 
was  a  total  loss.  The  iron  camp  kettles  given  us  at  Millen 
are  of  great  service  to  us  here.  I  found  Sergeant  Lunt 
of  Company  A  here  the  past  week,  and  he  has  cast  in  his 
lot  with  our  mess.  I  borrowed  from  comrades  a  copy  of 
Harper's  Monthly  and  Volume  VI  of  "  Hume's  History  of 
25 


358  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

England,"  which  have  helped  to  cheer  some  of  the  other 
wise  dull  hours. 

" '  December  26th.  The  week  has  brought  an  agreeable 
change  to  our  mess  and  myself.  On  the  twenty-second,  the 
reb  quartermaster  came  into  camp  calling  for  a  boss  car 
penter  and  seven  assistants.  Lunt  was  selected,  and  I 
was  fortunate  to  get  with  him  as  a  "  striker."  We  have 
now  had  three  days  outside,  and  never  did  fresh  air,  fields 
and  woods  seem  so  rich  a  blessing.  We  have  been  set  to 
work  to  build  a  log  cabin  for  one  of  the  officials ;  going 
out  at  sunrise  into  the  woods,  and  through  the  day  cutting 
logs  and  riving  shingles.  I  had  all  I  could  do  the  first  day 
to  swing  the  axe,  and  had  the  reb  overseer  been  with  us 
much  of  the  time,  I  fear  I  should  have  given  out.  Our 
extras  are  liberal  and  our  three  days'  experience  begins 
to  r»ake  us  feel  like  men  again.  Pratt  acts  as  cook,  and 
as  we  come  in  at  sunset,  with  our  extras  and  bundles  of 
pine  upon  our  shoulders,  greets  us  with  a  smiling  face,  a 
gallon  of  hot  coffee  (?)  made  from  burnt  corn  meal,  bean 
soup  and  baked  hoe  cake,  which  by  the  light  of  a  pitch 
pine  knot  we  gratefully  devour. 

" '  Every  Sabbath  forenoon  we  are  counted  off.  The 
guard  comes  in  and  we  upon  the  west  side  are  made  to 
pass  the  creek  to  the  east  side,  and  there  wait,  shivering 
it  may  be  in  the  rain  and  cold,  while  the  guards  go  through 
our  quarters  and  take  account  of  those  who  are  too  sick  to 
crawl  out.  Then  the  whole  camp  is  required  to  cross  the 
bridge  in  order,  by  hundreds  and  by  fours,  between  two 
reb  officers,  who  count  us  as  we  pass ;  it  often  takes  four 
hours  to  complete  the  count.  I  was  most  of  the  day 
patching  my  shirt  with  an  old  meal  sack,  which  I  had 
foraged  outside. 

"'January  ist,  1865.  No  change  for  the  better;  no 
signs  of  an  exchange,  and  some  of  our  poor  fellows,  weary 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  359 

and  heart  sick,  are  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
Southern  Confederacy  —  not  many,  although  the  rebs  are 
giving  invitations  freely,  coupled  with  promises  of  clothing, 
etc.  The  cold  snaps  multiply  and  little  patches  of  ice 
fringe  the  edges  of  the  creek,  and  with  each  cold  wave  one 
or  more  poor  fellow  gives  up  the  fight,  and,  in  prison 
phraseology,  is  "  exchanged." 

"'February,  1865.  Our  work  squad  has  been  out  day 
by  day ;  the  last  part  of  the  time  cutting  wood  for  use  in 
the  stockade.  Our  extras  have  been  cut  do\vn,  and,  from 
what  we  can  see,  we  have  concluded  that  the  rebel  guard 
are  not  abundantly  supplied.  Thanks  to  the  negroes,  who 
have  always  something  for  us,  as  they  slyly  stray  in  upon 
us  in  our  wood-cutting  expeditions  —  handing  us  a  few 
sweet  potatoes  or  a  little  bag  of  beans,  and  often  refusing 
all  pay.  Up  to  near  the  middle  of  January  we  were 
allowed  to  take  our  foraging  into  the  stockade  without 
hinderance.  All  at  once  came  the  word  from  the  overseer 
that  no  more  would  be  allowed  to  go  in ;  we  meekly 
received  the  order,  but  mentally  said  "we  would  see." 
And  we  did  see,  and  for  a  few  days,  with  well  padded 
bosoms  and  bulky  trowser  legs  and  caps  with  well  stuffed 
crowns,  we  bore  in  many  a  treasure  to  our  comrades.  But 
this  was  soon  ended  ;  the  guard  detailed  to  watch  us  began 
to  more  than  look  at  us,  and  a  hand  upon  the  hat  crown  or 
pant  leg  ended  the  flank  movement.  Another  plan  was 
successful  for  a  season:  each  was  allowed  to  take  in  a 
stick  of  wood  on  his  shoulder ;  some  men  would  split  and 
hollow  out  these  logs,  fill  them  with  beans,  and  with  the 
sticks  dowelled  together  march  into  camp.  This  also  was 
soon  ended,  for  one  night  the  overseer  himself  stood  by 
and  with  a  club  not  over  gently  tapped  each  log,  and,  as 
now  and  then  one  gave  a  hollow  sound,  he  would  distinctly 
say,  "Drop  that !  "  One  day  Lunt  was  given  an  ox-head 


360  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

by  the  overseer,  and  for  two  days  we  revelled  in  beef  soup. 
In  dressing  it  for  cooking,  Pratt  threw  the  eyes  outside, 
and,  to  his  surprise,  saw  a  comrade  pick  them  up  and  try 
to  cook  them  ;  but  he  gave  it  up  after  boiling  them  for  an 
hour  or  more.' 

"  With  the  entry  for  February  i  my  diary  closed,  for 
want  of  paper  to  write  upon.  The  following  closing 
account  is  given  from  memory : 

"  As  the  month  drew  on,  those  of  us  working  outside 
made  up  our  minds  that  if  there  was  no  exchange  at  hand 
Sherman  was,  and  also  the  doom  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy.  A  rebel  paper  or  fragment  of  one  would  come 
into  our  hands  and  from  it  we  thought  we  could  read  that 
perplexity  and  doubt  were  with  the  rebel  leaders.  Our 
extra  rations  were  again  cut  down ;  but  we  noticed  that 
the  rations  of  the  rebel  guard  were  also  reduced.  Often 
to  appease  my  hunger  I  would  stroll  about  the  rear  of  the 
officers'  quarters,  during  the  hour  given  for  nooning,  and 
search  for  bones,  sweet  potato  parings,  bits  of  corn  bread, 
etc.  Near  the  middle  of  the  month  rumors  came  thick 
and  fast  that  an  exchange  had  been  agreed  upon,  and  they 
gave  hope  and  cheer  to  all.  In  the  last  week  the  work 
began  and  soon  reached  our  thousand,  and  we  marched 
out  with  hearts  too  full  for  utterance,  feeling  sure  that  we 
had  bidden  good-bye  to  our  last  rebel  prison. 

"  Many  were  too  weak  to  walk  even  the  few  rods  to  the 
now  welcome  box  cars,  and  were  supported  or  lugged  in 
blankets  by  comrades.  We  were  crowded  in  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  but  we  did  not  care,  we  were  'going  home ! ' 
Soon  after  getting  started  Pratt  was  taken  sick  and  grew 
rapidly  worse,  so  that  on  the  second  day  he  could  scarcely 
sit  up.  We  were  two  nights  and  one  day  on  the  way  to 
Wilmington,  N.  C.,  where  the  exchange  took  place.  At 
the  dawn  of  each  day  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  train 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  361 

would  come  to  each  car  with  the  question,  *  Any  dead  men 
in  this  car  ? '  and  in  nearly  every  car  one,  and  in  some  two, 
would  be  found  to  have  given  up  the  fight  —  showing  that 
not  even  'going  home'  could  overcome  the  effects  of  the 
past  weary  months'  struggle  with  hunger,  cold  and  disease. 

"  Near  Wilmington  we  were  taken  out  into  a  wood,  where 
in  a  log  cabin  we  signed  the  parole  papers.  Poor  Pratt 
was  too  weak  to  sit  up,  so  we  fixed  our  blankets  upon 
poles  for  a  stretcher  and  took  him  along  with  us ;  every 
movement  hurt  him,  and  he  begged  us  to  leave  him.  From 
the  wood  we  were  taken  to  an  open  lot,  where  we  squatted 
in  groups,  weary  and  hungry.  As  the  day  wore  on,  the 
sound  of  firing  at  no  great  distance  caused  a  glow  of  ex 
citement  among  us,  and  soon  we  were  put  upon  the  cars 
again  and  started  away  from  the  city.  '  What  could  it 
mean,'  we  queried,  'are  we  doomed  to  disappointment 
again  ? '  We  were  taken  back  to  a  wood  near  by,  where 
we  were  told  to  make  ourselves  '  comfortable.'  While 
waiting  for  the  train  to  move  we  tore  open  a  bale  of  cotton 
lying  near  the  track,  and  soon  had  a  downy  bed  in  one 
corner  of  the  car,  upon  which  we  placed  Pratt ;  a  smile  of 
peace  passed  over  his  face  as  we  laid  him  down  upon  it. 

"  We  had  been  in  the  woods  but  a  little  while,  when,  to 
our  surprise,  a  squad  of  reb  cavalry  straggled  by  followed 
by  some  reb  infantry,  who  were  evidently  in  a  hurry.  An 
occasional  stray  shot  over  our  heads  told  us  the  cause  of 
their  haste,  and  soon  came  the  news  that  General  Terry 
had  captured  Wilmington  !  We  felt  like  cheering,  but  for 
more  than  one  reason  did  not.  Soon  after  we  were  again 
on  the  move,  and  landed  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city. 

"  On  the  morning  of  March  3d  we  were  cheered  by 
the  sight  of  a  train  of  United  States  ambulances,  into 
which  we  crowded,  scarce  waiting  for  them  to  halt. 
We  laid  Pratt  upon  the  bottom  of  one  of  them,  with 


362  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

a  pillow ;  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  sort  of  stupor.  Pen 
cannot  describe  our  emotions  as  we  caught  sight  of 
the  '  old  flag '  near  Wilmington  ;  our  cheers  mingled  with 
tears  of  joy ;  the  thoughts  rising  in  all  our  hearts  of 
*  something  to  eat,  something  to  wear,  and  home  again  ! ' 
Pratt  was  roused  by  the  commotion,  and  when  told  its 
cause  he  cried  'Let  me  see  it,'  and  we  lifted  him  up; 
joy  shone  upon  his  face  as  he  gazed  with  us  upon  the 
stars  and  stripes  waving  in  the  morning  sun. 

"  Much  might  be  said  of  our  stay  in  Wilmington  until 
the  next  day ;  memory  recalls  most  vividly  our  first  recep 
tion  of  rations  —  boiled  fresh  meat  and  soft  bread ;  almost 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  did  some  have  to  be  kept  from 
rushing  to  grasp  the  coveted  food.  In  the  afternoon  we 
were  taken  into  the  city  and  quartered  in  churches,  school- 
houses,  etc.,  having  to  wait  till  next  day  for  the  steamer  to 
take  us  to  Annapolis. 

"  Our  mess  clung  together,  taking  Pratt  with  us,  who 
was  in  a  raging  fever.  We  were  quartered  in  a  small 
chapel,  where  we  passed  a  dreary  night.  Our  hunger  had 
been  somewhat  appeased,  but  we  were  cold,  we  were 
ragged,  and  scores  of  vermin,  which  had  followed  us  from 
our  prison,  so  persistently  reminded  us  of  their  friendship 
that  sleep  was  almost  impossible.  In  the  morning  (March 
4th)  we  were  inspected  by  a  surgeon,  and  those  too  weak 
to  stand  the  journey  were  taken  to  the  hospitals.  We 
bade  good-bye  to  Pratt,  hardly  daring  to  hope  ever  to 
see  him  again.  At  noon  we  were  upon  the  steamer  for 
Annapolis.  Most  of  us  soon  became  sea-sick,  and  as  a 
result  were  weak  and  trembling  as,  upon  arrival  there,  we 
were  landed  just  at  dark  at  the  dock  of  the  Naval  Academy 
grounds. 

"  With  wise  forethought  for  us  the  United  States  San 
itary  Commission  was  on  board  with  a  barrel  of  hot  milk 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  363 

punch,  a  mug  of  which  was  given  to  each  of  us  as  we  filed 
from  the  steamer.  We  were  taken  to  a  large  bath-room, 
treated  to  a  warm  bath,  aided  with  soap  and  scrub  brush, 
our  hair  cropped,  and  given  a  suit  of  clothes.  I  felt  like 
holding  on  to  my  prison  'uniform,'  as  a  war  relic,  but 
knew  it  would  be  useless  to  ask  the  privilege,  for  it  con 
tained  too  much  life  to  admit,  under  the  circumstances, 
of  being  suitably  prepared  for  preservation.  From  the 
bath-room  we  were  put  into  comfortable  cots,  where,  with 
varying  emotions,  we  felt  that  '  our  prison  days  were  over.' 
On  the  morrow  came  the  word  '  Thirty  days  furlough  as 
soon  as  you  are  able  to  go  home  ! ' ' 

Lieutenant  Blanchard's  narrative  is  as  follows : 

"I  was  captured  on  the  thirtieth  of  September,  1864. 

"  That  day  will  be  remembered  as  cloudy  and  dull,  and 
an  altogether  unpromising  one  for  military  operations ; 
but,  in  compliance  with  orders,  an  early  start  was  made, 
and  we  began  '  feeling  for  the  enemy,'  little  dreaming  that 
before  nightfall  the  enemy  would  be  feeling  of  some  of'  us 
in  a  manner  entirely  regardless  of  any  preference  we  might 
have  as  to  the  method  of  disposing  of  us  or  our  effects. 

"  The  day  had  been  spent  in  skirmishing  and  in  working 
our  way  to  the  left  in  the  direction  of  the  South  Side 
Railroad,  the  only  remaining  line  of  rail  communication 
between  Petersburg  and  the  South. 

"  We  were  a  comparatively  short  distance  from  this  road 
when  our  regiment  passed  out  of  a  belt  of  woods  across  an 
open  field,  in  sight  of  the  rebel  earthworks  forming  a  part 
of  the  Petersburg  line  of  defences.  Under  a  light  rifle 
fire  from  the  enemy  we  took  refuge  behind  a  rail  fence, 
and  had  exchanged  a  few  shots,  when,  noticing  an  extra 
ordinary  commotion  along  the  line  to  my  right,  I  looked 
in  that  direction  and  saw  close  upon  us  a  body  of  rebel 


364  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTY-FIFTH   REGIMENT, 

cavalry  galloping  towards  us  and  apparently  meeting  with 
no  opposition.  Turning  to  the  left  I  saw  our  men  ( legging 
it'  for  the  woods  in  the  rear,  and  was  about  to  follow  them 
myself,  when  I  saw  it  was  too  late — the  'Johnnies'  were 
upon  us,  and  had  made  prisoners  of  a  dozen  or  more  of 
our  German  recruits  and  myself.  Being  a  diffident  sort  of 
person,  and  the  only  one  of  our  men  who  could  speak  the 
English  language,  I  left  it  for  the  leader  of  the  rebel  host 
to  make  such  introductory  remarks  as  might,  to  him,  seem 
best  suited  to  the  occasion.  He  was  not  long  in  taking  in 
the  situation,  and  notably  relieved  my  embarrassment  by 
alluding  to  us  as  a  parcel  of  '  condemned  Yankees '  (the 
word  '  condemned  '  is  a  substitution),  and  inviting  us  in 
words  more  emphatic  than  refined  to  get  over  to  the  other 
side  of  the  fence.  We  got  over,  and  started  towards  the 
enemy's  lines,  accompanied  by  a  guard ;  we  had  gone  but 
a  short  distance  when  we  were  met  by  a  rebel  line  of  skir 
mishers  —  a  sorry-looking  set  —  and  evidently  as  much 
scared  as  we  were. 

"  They  were  not  long  in  making  our  acquaintance  and 
making  the  most  of  it.  One  cadaverous  looking  individual, 
fully  six  feet  and  ten  inches  tall,  addressed  me  with, 
*  Hello,  Yank,  got  any  coffee? '  I  was  about  to  ask  him 
if  he  took  me  for  a  green-grocer,  when  he  deliberately 
took  hold  of  the  strap  to  my  haversack  and,  lifting  bag  and 
all  over  my  head,  coolly  threw  it  over  his  own  shoulder 
and  marched  off  as  complacently  as  though  he  had  done 
me  an  indescribable  kindness.  My  reflections  were  soon 
turned  from  the  subject  of  groceries  to  that  of  dry  goods, 
by  a  genial-faced  Southron,  who  thoughtfully  suggested 
that,  as  I  would  soon  be  going  into  warmer  latitudes,  the 
heavy  blanket  I  was  carrying  would  be  an  encumbrance 
that  would  make  my  journey  truly  miserable,  and  so,  de 
siring  to  add  to  my  comfort,  he  generously  relieved  me  of 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  365 

the  aforesaid  burden,  and  passed  on  with  a  smile  upon  his 
face  that,  under  any  other  circumstances,  would  have  been 
a  positive  benediction  upon  the  one  who  beheld  it.  Another 
kindly-disposed  fellow  had  similar  convictions  regarding 
the  inconvenience  I  might  suffer  from  lugging  about  the 
overcoat  that  was  strapped  to  my  knapsack,  and  he,  like 
wise,  in  a  truly  self-sacrificing  spirit,  proceeded  to  assume 
that  part  of  my  burden  for  me.  I  shall  never  forgive, 
however,  the  chap  who,  on  that  occasion,  borrowed  my 
jack-knife  and  other  pocket  fixings,  such  as  go  to  make  up 
an  important  part  of  a  soldier's  outfit.  Neither  can  I 
forget  the  possibly  well-meant  kindness  that  prompted  one 
of  my  new-found  acquaintances  to  remove  my  hat  from 
my  head,  and,  placing  it  upon  his  chivalric  brow,  con 
siderately  replace  it  with  his  own  —  a  nasty,  greasy  old 
tile  that  completely  overshadowed  me,  and,  I  might  add, 
nearly  suffocated  me  with  its  foul  odor. 

"  After  we  had  been  thus  put  in  light  marching  order, 
our  guards  were  instructed  to  conduct  us  into  Petersburg 
and  turn  us  over  to  the  provost  marshal. 

"  Resuming  our  journey,  we  passed  down  a  narrow 
ravine  that  brought  us  to  the  foot  of  the  hill,  upon  which 
were  thrown  up  several  lines  'of  earthworks,  constructed  in 
terraces  and  in  such  a  convenient  rise  as  to  render  them 
almost  impregnable,  even  though  defended  by  a  mere 
handful  of  men.  We  passed  directly  through  these 
terraces  and  found  them  occupied  by  a  comparatively 
small  body  of  troops.  As  we  passed  through  the  rebel 
lines  we  were  the  subject  of  much  good-natured  chaffing, 
and  fell  into  a  friendly  chat  with  our  guards,  from  whom 
we  learned  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Confederate  army 
had  practically  given  up  their  cause  as  hopeless,  and  had 
lost  faith  in  their  leaders. 

"  Reaching  the  crest  of  the  hill  we  obtained  our  first  view 


366  HISTORY   OF   THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

of  the  town  of  Petersburg,  which  lay  some  two  or  three 
miles  to  the  north.  It  was  nearly  dark,  but  we  could 
discern  small  squads  of  men  travelling  in  the  same  direc 
tion  as  ourselves,  and,  as  we  reached  the  main  road,  we 
found  them  to  be  prisoners  like  ourselves.  As  we  jour 
neyed  toward  the  town  our  ranks  were  continually  aug 
mented  by  these  squads,  until  we  began  to  think  that  the 
1  rebs '  had  *  gobbled  up '  the  whole  of  Grant's  '  left  wing.' 
"  It  was  nearly  nine  o'clock  before  we  entered  the  out 
skirts  of  the  town,  but  the  news  of  our  capture  had  preceded 
us,  and  the  people  were  out  in  force  to  get  a  peep  at  the 
Yankees,  of  whom  they  had  never  seen  so  many.  It 
seemed  as  though  we  would  never  reach  our  destination, 
and  many  of  us  verily  believed  that  we  were  being  marched 
through  the  highways  and  byways  of  the  town  on  exhibition. 
As  a  rule  there  were  no  demonstrations,  except  occasion 
ally  a  suggestive  remark  about  our  nativity  or  some 
comment  upon  our  personal  appearance.  One  old  crone 
stepped  up  to  us,  and,  shaking  her  unwashed  forefinger, 
exclaimed,  '  Well,  you  'uns  has  got  into  Petersburg,  hain't 
yer? '  No  one  stopped  to  dispute  the  point  with  her,  there 
being  no  uncertainty  in  our  minds  regarding  the  fact  of 
our  being  in  the  town,  though  we  might  have  confessed  to 
some  forebodings  as  to  the  probabilities  of  our  getting  out 
of  it.  At  length  we  were  brought  to  a  halt,  and,  after  a 
long  delay,  were  turned  into  an  open  lot  which  had 
evidently  been  used  for  a  cattle  yard.  Here  we  were 
ordered  to  make  ourselves  comfortable  for  the  night.  At 
this  moment  it  dawned  upon  my  mind  that  my  impromptu 
friends  of  the  afternoon  had  rather  overdone  the  matter  of 
solicitation  for  my  welfare,  and  I,  uncharitably,  perhaps, 
began  to  feel  that  their  benevolent  acts  might,  after  all, 
have  been  born  of  mercenary  motives  ;  for  I  realized,  at 
this  juncture,  that  a  blanket  or  an  overcoat  and  well- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  367 

filled  haversack  would  be  among  the  most  acceptable  and 
useful  things  in  the  world. 

"  The  night  was  dark  and  the  sky  was  filled  with  heavy 
clouds  that  poured  an  occasional  shower  of  rain  upon  us. 
I  was  tired,  hungry  and  sleepy,  yet  it  was  past  midnight 
before  I  ventured  to  follow  the  lead  of  some  of  my  more 
reconciled  companions  and  seek  repose  as  best  I  might. 
I  wandered  about,  vainly  hoping  to  stumble  over  a  board 
or  some  article  that  would  protect  me  from  the  mud  (into 
which  I  knew  I  must  lie  unless  I  was  equal  to  the  emer 
gency  of  sleeping  horse  fashion,  standing  upon  my  legs) ; 
the  latter  seemed  resolutely  opposed  to  such  an  innovation, 
and,  as  if  by  way  of  compromise,  led  me  to  a  spot  where 
a  man  was  snoring  at  the  rate,  I  should  judge,  of  a  mile  a 
minute.  I  was  not  long  in  discovering  that  he  was  lying 
upon  a  rubber  blanket.  Now  I  never  knew  of  a  rubber 
blanket  that  was  not  big  enough  to  accommodate  two 
persons,  so  without  any  apology  to  the  proprietor  of  this 
particular  blanket,  I  laid  my  knapsack  (the  only  remaining 
memento  by  which  I  could  identify  myself  as  a  *  boy  in 
blue ')  upon  the  ground  for  a  pillow,  stretched  myself 
by  the  side  of  my  companion  (by  appropriation),  and,  cov 
ering  my  head  with  the  villainous  old  tile  that  adorned 
me  during  the  day,  I  was  soon  asleep  and  entirely  un 
mindful  of  '  houseless  head  and  unfed  sides.' 

"  '  October  ist.  When  I  awoke  this  morning  it  was  long 
after  daylight,  and  I  found  my  head  in  the  mud  and  my 
knapsack  and  the  "  old  tile  "  gone.  My  companion  of  the 
night  was  sitting  on  the  blanket  by  my  side  contentedly 
pulling  away  at  his  pipe,  apparently  as  unconcerned  as 
though  he  were  waiting  the  morning  call  for  breakfast.  I 
naturally  expected  a  demand  from  him  for  a  settlement 
for  my  night's  lodging,  but,  instead,  he  politely  touched  his 
hat  and  saluted  me  as  "  Mr.  Sergeant,"  when  I  recognized 


368  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

him  as  one  of  the  German  recruits  belonging  to  the  Thirty- 
Fifth  Regiment.  He  had  evidently  been  taking  notes  of 
my  condition,  and  though  he  could  not  express  his  sympathy 
in  words  he  manifested  a  noble  and  generous  nature  by 
sharing  with  me  some  of  his  outfit  that  he  had  been  for 
tunate  enough  to  preserve  when  he  fell  into  rebel  hands. 
Finding  that  I  was  coatless  and  hatless  he  gave  me  the 
cape  to  his  overcoat  and  the  glazed  cover  to  his  military 
cap,  and  these  articles  were  the  only  covering  of  this  kind 
that  I  had  during  my  six  months'  sojourn  in  rebeldom  — 
these  were  my  blanket  and  head-dress.  Many  times 
during  the  cold  winter  nights,  when  I  pulled  the  cape 
about  me,  making  it  cover  every  possible  inch  of  my  body, 
did  my  thoughts  go  out  in  gratitude  to  the  kind-hearted 
Teuton,  who,  at  a  time  when  most  men  think  only  of  self- 
preservation,  found  occasion  for  the  exercise  of  that  virtue 
possessed  by  those  who  act  under  the  injunction  of  the 
Master :  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  This 
man  was  afterwards  sent  to  Salisbury  prison-pen,  and,  to 
escape  its  horrors,  is  said  to  have  enlisted  in  the  rebel 
army.  Whether  he  did  or  not  I  have  for  him  only  the 
kindest  sentiments  and  the  warmest  impulses  of  a  grateful 
heart.  During  the  forenoon  of  this  day  large  numbers 
were  added  to  our  ranks,  and  the  report  circulated  that 
three  thousand  of  our  men  had  been  taken  by  the  rebels 
as  a  result  of  yesterday's  movements.  A  few  hours  before 
my  capture  I  received  notification  that  I  had  been  com 
missioned  a  2d  lieutenant,  and  when  to-day  I  came  to  be 
registered  I  determined  to  report  myself  as  such,  notwith 
standing  the  fact  that  I  had  not  yet  been  mustered.  This 
proved  a  most  fortunate  decision  for  me,  as  by  so  doing  I 
was  placed  among  the  commissioned  officers  and  received 
better  treatment  than  most  of  the  enlisted  men  who  were 
captured  with  me. 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  369 

"  '  Among  the  large  number  of  our  men,  I  have  to-day, 
October  ist,  found  but  few  familiar  faces,  namely :  Sergeant 
Ireland  and  Corporal  Taylor  Dodge  of  Company  B,  and  John 
Jeffers  of  Company  K.  We  were  this  afternoon  removed 
to  a  building  where  we  were  under  cover,  and  which  proved 
quite  comfortable  in  comparison  with  last  night's  quarters. 
To-day  we  went  through  the  "  searching  "  ordeal.  Being 
called  off  in  small  squads,  we  were  conducted  into  a  room 
where  we  were  detained  until  one  at  a  time  we  were  called 
into  a  separate  apartment,  stripped  to  the  skin  and  searched, 
under  the  comforting  assurance  that  our  effects  would  be 
held  until  we  might  be  exchanged,  then  to  be  returned  to 
us.  It  is  due  the  intelligence  of  our  men  to  say  that  none 
of  them  "  hoisted  in  "  the  lt  return  upon  being  exchanged  " 
part  of  this  proceeding.  I  was  sent  into  the  first  of  the 
above-mentioned  rooms  with  about  a  dozen  others,  one  of 
whom  had  been  ordered  into  the  room  of  the  "  Inquisition," 
when  another,  who  remained  behind,  began  to  sob  and 
manifested  signs  of  deep  emotion.  Upon  being  questioned, 
he  stated  that  he  had  upon  his  person  nearly  eleven  hundred 
dollars,  and  the  prospect  of  losing  this  sum  had  completely 
broken  him  down.  The  money  was  in  hundred  dollar  bills, 
with  the  exception  of  about  seventy  dollars  in  notes  of 
smaller  denominations.  One  of  our  number  suggested 
that  he  leave  the  small  bills  in  his  pocket  and  entrust  the 
remainder  to  the  rest  of  the  party,  each  one  of  whom 
should  fold  a  hundred  dollar  bill  and  place  it  in  his  mouth 
while  being  searched.  This  plan  was  adopted  and  the 
officer  recovered  every  one  of  his  bills  after  he  returned  to 
his  quarters. 

" '  When  I  was  ordered  into  the  small  room  for  exami 
nation,  the  "  committee "  evidently  thought  it  had  not 
struck  much  of  a  "  bonanza  "  in  me,  for  I  was  indeed  a 
sorry-looking  object  as  I  entered,  wearing  the  overcoat 


37°  HISTORY   OF   THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

cape  and  glazed  cap  cover  which  fitted  close  to  my  head ; 
my  face  and  hands  had  been  unwashed  for  nearly  three 
days,  my  clothing  was  bespattered  with  mud,  my  jaws 
wagging  vigorously  as  I  chewed  away  at  the  hundred 
dollar  bill  in  my  mouth.  I  could  see  that  the  call  of  "  next " 
would  not  be  long  delayed.  Upon  giving  the  presiding 
"  searcher"  my  name  and  rank,  he  ventured  the  flattering 
suggestion  that  "I  was  a  h-11  of  a  looking  lieutenant," 
and  wanted  to  know  where  my  shoulder  straps  were. 
To  this  I  replied  that  I  had  distributed  the  most  of 
my  clothing  among  men  on  the  Confederate  skirmish 
line  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  he  could  "reckon" 
as  well  as  I  as  to  the  probable  whereabouts  of  my 
straps.  My  dilapidated  appearance  proved  fortunate 
for  me,  as  I  received  only  a  slight  examination  (not  being 
favored  with  the  distinction  of  being  stripped),  by  which  I 
preserved  my  watch,  which  I  afterwards  sold  at  a  time 
when  I  was  nearly  famished.  Upon  rejoining  my  com 
rades  I  found  myself  possessed  of  the  following  inven 
tory  of  this  world's  goods  :  one  pair  of  boots  (good  ones), 
one  pair  of  socks  (that  would  be  greatly  improved  by  darn 
ing),  one  pair  of  pants  (very  thin  and  much  worn),  one 
pair  of  drawers,  one  shirt,  one  blouse,  an  overcoat  cape, 
a  glazed  cap  cover  and  my  watch. 

"  *  Sunday,  October  2d.  Drew  rations  of  pork  and  hard 
bread.  In  the  afternoon  we  were  marched  to  the  railroad 
station,  where,  after  a  delay  of  several  hours,  we  were 
packed  into  cattle  cars  and  started  for  Richmond. 

11 '  Monday,  October  3d.  Arrived  in  Richmond  at  day 
light,  and,  with  the  commissioned  officers,  was  incarcerated 
in  Libby  prison.  The  enlisted  men  were  sent  to  Belle 
Isle.  As  we  entered  the  room  in  which  we  were  to  be 
confined  we  were  greeted  with  cries  of  "  fresh  ! "  "  fresh  !  " 
from  the  dozen  or  more  officers  who  had  occupied  the 


MASSACHUSETTS   VOLUNTEERS.  371 

place  as  prisoners  for  some  weeks.  Among  these  were 
General  Hayes  of  New  York  and  Colonel  Hooper  of 
the  Twenty-Fourth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  We  were 
served  with  a  ration  of  corn  bread  (so  called)  and  meat 
(the  lungs  and  heads  of  beef  cattle).  We  were  drawn  up 
in  line  this  morning  and  "  reviewed "  by  the  notorious 
Dick  Turner  and  his  servile  satellite,  Lieutenant  Ross, 
together  forming  a  brace  of  the  most  cowardly  bullies  that 
ever  went  unhung. 

"  '  Tuesday,  October  4th.  Early  this  morning  a  squad 
of  Union  officers  arrived  from  Charleston,  en  route  to  be 
exchanged.  They  tell  hard  stories  of  their  treatment  in 
Southern  prisons.  The  walls  of  this  place  are  literally 
covered  with  the  names  of  men  who  have  been  prisoners. 
After  being  counted  to-day,  Turner  informed  us  that  we 
might  write  letters  home  (as  a  flag  of  truce  boat  was  going 
down  the  James  River),  and  our  communications  would  be 
forwarded  by  her.  We  were  cautioned  to  make  our  letters 
short  and  strictly  confined  to  personal  matters.  I  took 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  to  pen  the  following  epistle, 
for  the  second  clause  of  which  I  hope  to  be  forgiven  : 


U    i   It 


"'"LiBBY  PRISON,  RICHMOND,  VA.,  Oct.  4,  1864. 
Dear  father:  I  was  taken  prisoner  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  Sept.  3oth.  Am  comfortably  situated  and  well 
treated.  I  find  the  names  of  Frank  Sweeney  and  Robert 
Steele  of  Company  C  written  on  the  walls  of  the  room  in 
which  I  am  confined.  Please  inform  their  friends.  Hoping 
soon  to  be  with  you,  I  am,"  etc. 

" '  Wednesday,  October  5th.  Where  all  the  lice  in  this 
place  came  from  is  more  than  I  can  comprehend.  Every 
morning  each  inmate  of  the  prison  strips  himself  and  pro 
ceeds  to  dispatch  the  small  army  of  vermin  that  has  over 
run  him  during  the  night;  but  each  day  one  finds  about 


372  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

the  same  number  of  full-grown,  rapacious  creepers  —  fat, 
sleek  and  agile.  The  guard  imparts  to  us  the  comforting 
intelligence  that  we  are  soon  to  be  sent  South. 

"  '  Thursday,  October  6th.  Find  that  lying  upon  a  floor 
with  neither  mattress  nor  covering  is  not  conducive  to 
refreshing  sleep.  Think  I  would  prefer  to  take  my  chances 
with  the  boys  in  front  of  Petersburg.  Copies  of  Richmond 
papers  were  brought  in  to-day.  It  is  drawing  it  mildly  to 
say  that  the  news  they  contain  evidently  lacks  confirmation. 
By  them  it  appears  that  the  Union  cause  is  on  its  "  last 
legs."  Thirteen  hundred  of  our  men  started  South  this 
afternoon.  Notwithstanding  the  thorough  searching  to 
which  we  were  subjected  at  Petersburg,  many  of  the  officers 
seem  to  have  retained  a  portion  of  their  greenbacks,  and 
succeed  in  purchasing  bread  and  vegetables  of  the  guards. 

" ( Friday,  October  yth.  Several  officers  went  in  the 
truce  boat  and  were  exchanged.  Can  hear  shells  from  our 
artillery  bursting  near  the  city. 

"  *  Saturday,  October  8th.  Last  night  it  was  very  cold, 
and  to-day  we  are  obliged  to  keep  in  motion  in  order  to  be 
at  all  comfortable.  No  food  until  three  P.  M.,  when  we 
were  served  with  three  days'  rations  of  corn  bread  and 
tainted  meat,  and  started  for  the  South  via  Danville,  Va. 

"'Sunday,  October  gth.  Weather  still  cold.  Had  a 
hard  night  on  the  cars.  About  noon  arrived  at  Greens 
boro,  N.  C.,  where  we  left  the  cars  and  are  waiting  the 
arrival  of  another  train,  not  due  until  to-morrow. 

"'Monday,  October  loth.  Passed  the  night  upon  the 
ground  without  shelter,  and  at  eight  o'clock  A.  M.  resumed 
our  journey.  As  soon  as  the  train  had  started  we  pro 
ceeded  to  introduce  light  and  ventilation  by  tearing  off 
the  boards  from  the  frame  of  the  cars.  Notwithstanding 
great  hunger  I  find  it  difficult  to  eat  my  rations,  for  the 
bread  is  not  bread  and  the  meat  is  too  vile  for  a  human 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  373 

being  to  use  as  food;  yet  my  conscience  will  not  allow 
me  to  throw  it  away.  As  we  stopped  at  a  station  this 
afternoon  we  heard  a  noise  as  of  some  one  climbing  up 
the  side  of  the  car,  and  presently  a  basket  was  passed 
through  an  opening  that  had  been  made  by  the  removal 
of  a  board,  and  a  voice  (evidently  that  of  a  colored 
woman)  called  out  "  Here,  you  'uns,  take  dese,  an'  God 
bless  yer!"  at  the  same  time  the  long  black  arm  that  held 
the  basket  turned  it  upside  down  and  scattered  half  a 
peck  or  more  of  well-ripened  apples  among  us.  Cheers 
were  given  for  our  unseen  friend,  whose  generous  act 
told  of  the  promptings  of  a  grateful  soul,  and  solaced  us 
with  the  thought  that  if  we  could  but  get  beyond  the 
range  of  rebel  rifles  there  were  friends  at  command  whose 
loyal  hearts  and  willing  hands  would  be  ready  to  speed  us 
on  our  way  to  "  God's  country ; "  that,  to  the  prisoner's 
mind,  lay  north  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  Arrived  at 
Salisbury  at  about  dark.  There  was  a  notable  absence  of 
gas  lamps  and  lanterns.  We  were  conducted  to  a  building 
said  to  be  used  as  a  hospital  for  the  prisoners,  and  were 
placed  in  an  upper  room,  which  we  found  in  a  most  filthy 
condition.  A  number  of  prisoners  were  already  in  the 
room,  and  by  them  we  were  warned  to  look  out  for  the 
"raiders,"  a  band  of  thieves  and  cut-throats  who  made  it 
their  business  to  "  go  through  "  every  newly-arrived  con 
signment  of  prisoners.  These  fiends  had  access  to  the 
building  from  below,  and  would  steal  up  at  night,  under 
cover  of  the  darkness,  seize  a  prisoner  and  rob  him  of  all 
he  possessed,  resorting  to  murder  if  necessary  to  accom 
plish  these  ends.  These  rascals  made  but  one  attempt 
upon  our  company,  which  numbered  nearly  four  hundred 
men,  who  kept  a  vigil  ant  watch,  and  all  attempts  at  plunder 
were  frustrated. 

"  '  Tuesday,  October  nth.     Vermin  and  hunger  brought 
26 


374  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

me  to  my  feet  early  this  morning,  when  I  took  a  survey  of 
the  place  that  for  a  time  was  to  be  my  prison  home.  The 
pen  (for  Salisbury  was  nothing  else)  was  a  triangular- 
shaped  parcel  of  ground  about  one-fifth  as  large  as  Boston 
'Common,  and  surrounded  by  a  stockade  about  fifteen  feet 
high.  On  the  outside  of  this,  about  four  feet  from  the  top, 
•was  a  raised  walk  upon  which  rebel  guards  patrolled, 
breaking  the  monotony  of  their  weary  beat  by  occasionally 
shooting,  under  one  pretence  or  another,  some  helpless 
"  Yank."  The  brick  building  of  which  we  were  occupants 
was  situated  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  enclosure,  and 
at  the  opposite  corner  was  a  row  of  log  cabins,  usually 
occupied  by  Union  officers  held  as  prisoners  and  separated 
from  the  enlisted  men  by  a  "  dead  line  " — a  narrow  trench 
about  twelve  inches  wide  and  six  inches  deep,  extending 
entirely  across  the  yard.  Another  dead  line  ran  entirely 
around  the  enclosure  within  about  five  feet  of  the  stockade. 
Among  the  prisoners  confined  in  the  brick  building,  we 
met  Albert  D.  Richardson,  the  far-famed  correspondent  of 
the  New  York  Tribune,  who  had  been  a  long  time  in  cap 
tivity  and  who  had  been  of  late  placed  in  charge  of  the 
sick  Union  prisoners.  Our  rations  for  this  day  consisted 
of  half  a  loaf  of  bread.  We  were  this  afternoon  transferred 
to  the  log  cabins,  where  we  enjoyed  the  luxury  of  breath 
ing  fresh,  pure  air. 

'"Wednesday,  October  i2th.  A  glance  across  the  dead 
line  presents  a  most  heart-rending  sight.  Fully  ten  thousand 
men  are  swarming  the  small  plot  of  ground,  all  of  them 
suffering  with  hunger,  and  many  of  them  bare-headed  and 
shoeless.  Pneumonia  is  said  to  be  very  prevalent  among 
them,  and  that  it  is  doing  its  fatal  work  is  attested  by  the 
presence  of  the  dead  cart,  which  every  morning  carries 
away  a  load  of  uncoffined  dead.  As  I  was  sitting  near  the 
dead  line  this  forenoon,  "skirmishing"  (hunting  my 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  375 

clothes  for  vermin  —  a  search,  by  the  way,  always  attended 
with  the  most  abundant  results),  I  saw  Corporal  Preston 
Holbrook,  of  Company  C,  who  was  captured  the  same  day 
as  myself.  He  informed  me  that  Corporal  Wm.  P.  Stone, 
also  of  Company  C,  was  somewhere  in  the  pen. 

'"Thursday,  October  i3th.  Had  a  ration  of  soup  to 
day.  It  was  made  by  boiling  the  trimmings  of  beef  cattle, 
such  as  the  head  and  pluck,  in  water,  and  adding  a  few 
black  or  "  hog  "  beans,  as  they  were  called.  These  beans 
would  not  swell  and  thicken  the  liquor  in  which  they  were 
boiled  (as  do  the  common  white  beans),  but  would  become 
soft  inside,  and  the  shell  or  hull  not  breaking  they  would 
sink  to  the  bottom  of  the  kettle,  leaving  a  watery  broth 
that  took  on  the  color  of  the  bean  and  looked  as  much  like 
blue  water,  such  as  our  mothers  prepare  for  washing,  as  it 
did  like  soup,  and  was  just  about  as  nutritious. 

'"Friday,  October  i4th.  Saw  Corporal  Stone  to-day. 
He  was  captured  August  igth,  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and, 
with  several  others  taken  that  day,  was  reported  "  missing  " 
on  the  company  rolls.  He  had  been  a  prisoner  about  two 
months,  and  already  showed  signs  of  emaciation.  It  was 
evident  that  the  rigors  of  prison  life  were  telling  severely 
upon  him.  He  was  barefooted.  He  bargained  to  sell  his 
shoes  for  bread,  but  in  the  negotiation  only  his  part  of  the 
trade  was  carried  out ;  the  rebel  guard  getting  possession 
of  the  shoes  failed  to  deliver  the  bread. 

'"  Saturday,  October  i5th.  Sold  my  watch  to-day  for 
seventy  dollars  in  Confederate  money  and  a  pair  of  second 
hand  shoes.  Gave  the  latter  to  Corporal  Stone,  sending 
them  to  him  by  one  of  our  men  who  had  been  detailed 
among  others  to  bring  a  supply  of  water  across  the  line  to 
the  officers.  The  water  we  get  is  of  fair  quality,  but  the 
supply  is  very  scant. 

"'Sunday,  October  i6th.     While  I  was  "skirmishing" 


376  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

this  morning  Captain  Davis  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty- 
Fifth  New  York  came  out  of  the  log  hut  of  which  we  were 
both  occupants,  and,  addressing  me  with  a  cordial  morning 
salutation,  passed  to  my  right  and  stood  against  a  tree 
about  fifteen  feet  from  the  stockade.  I  was  suddenly 
startled  by  the  crack  of  a  rifle,  and  turning  saw  Captain 
Davis  fall  dead.  Murdered  by  a  half-grown  boy,  who  was 
performing  the  duty  of  sentinel.  Davis  had  committed  no 
offence,  and  no  possible  apology  could  be  offered  for 
the  deed. 

" '  Monday,  October  lyth.  Had  a  ration  of  sorghum  to 
day,  which  we  were  told  was  in  lieu  of  meat.  Our  men 
are  suffering  much  from  cold,  the  most  of  them  being  with 
out  blankets  or  shelter.  The  hope  for  a  speedy  exchange 
is  all  that  sustains  many  of  them. 

"  'Tuesday,  October  i8th.  Exciting  rumors  are  current 
to-day  regarding  Grant's  operations  in  front  of  Petersburg. 
It  is  also  reported  that  a  Union  force  is  within  forty  miles 
of  this  place,  aiming  at  our  release. 

"'  Wednesday,  October  iQth.  More  prisoners  arrived 
to-day.  At  about  four  o'clock  all  the  commissioned  officers 
were  ordered  to  prepare  for  removal  to  Danville.  No 
rations  were  served  us.  Believing  that  almost  any  change 
would  be  preferable  to  the  condition  I  was  in,  I  said 
"good-bye"  to  the  men  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  Regiment, 
though  with  a  heavy  heart,  for  I  felt  that  I  was  leaving 
them  to  a  miserable  fate,  that  for  many  of  them  must 
certainly  terminate  in  death.  Took  cars  at  about  four 
o'clock  and  started  for  Danville. 

"'Thursday,  October  2oth.  We  were  so  closely  packed 
in  the  cars  last  night  that  what  sleep  we  got  was  obtained 
in  a  sitting  posture,  and  was  far  from  refreshing.  During 
the  night  several  officers  made  their  escape  from  the  train, 
and  others  were  shot  in  the  attempt.  We  arrived  at  Dan- 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  377 

ville  at  about  ten  o'clock  and  were  placed  in  military  prison 
No.  3,  formerly  a  tobacco  warehouse.  Had  rations  of  corn 
bread  and  black  bean  soup,  such  as  was  served  us  at 
Salisbury.  The  bread  was  composed  of  meal  that  was 
made  by  grinding  the  whole  ear  of  corn  (including  the  cob). 
This  was  mixed  with  water  and  "baked"  in  sheet-iron 
pans  about  twenty  inches  square  and  three  inches  deep. 
The  material  was  such  that  it  would  not  cook  as  does 
ordinary  meal,  but  came  to  us  burned  black  on  the  top  and 
bottom,  the  inside  being  a  mass  of  clammy,  unpalatable 
stuff,  unfit  to  eat.  We  disposed  of  these  rations  by  soak 
ing  or  boiling  (when  we  could)  the  crust  in  water,  making 
a  kind  of  coffee,  drinking  the  liquor  and  eating  the 
grounds.  The  inside  portion  of  the  bread  was  then  ex 
posed  to  the  sun  and  dried  ;  afterwards  it  was  grated  over 
a  piece  of  perforated  tin  and  eaten  —  when  hunger  drove 
us  to  it. 

"'Friday,  October  2ist.  One  of  the  officers  who  escaped 
from  the  train  on  the  night  of  the  nineteenth  was  returned 
to  prison  to-day,  having  been  recaptured.  Several  of  our 
number  were  sent  to  the  hospital. 

"  '  Saturday,  October  22d.  Very  cold  day.  No  fuel  in 
the  prison,  though  the  country  about  us  is  densely  wooded, 
and  an  abundant  supply  could  be  had  by  permitting  a 
detail  of  prisoners  to  procure  it.  Had  a  ration  of  cabbage 
soup  to-day.  Bought  "  two  cents'  worth  "  of  molasses  for 
five  dollars  in  Confederate  money. 

"  '  Sunday,  October  23d.  Had  preaching  by  the  chaplain 
of  a  New  Hampshire  regiment,  who  is  a  fellow  prisoner. 
A  wet,  cold  and  very  uncomfortable  day. 

"'  Monday,  October  24th.  Rumors  are  current  that 
Sheridan  is  making  it  lively  for  the  rebels  in  the  Shenan- 
doah  valley.  Some  of  the  officers  are  selling  their  clothing, 
boots,  etc.,  to  the  guards,  for  money  with  which  to  purchase 


378  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 


food.  Salt  is  a  great  scarcity,  none  being  put  into  the 
food  that  is  served  to  us. 

"'Tuesday,  October  25th.  One  of  the  officers  obtained 
a  copy  of  the  Richmond  Sentinel,  which  contained  a 
confirmation  of  the  good  news  regarding  Sheridan.  The 
"  Star  of  Hope  "  rises  high  with  us  to-day,  and  enables  us 
to  partially  forget  our  misery.  Very  scanty  rations  of 
bread  and  soup. 

"'Wednesday,  October  26th.  Had  rations  of  sorghum 
served  out  this  morning.  No  meat  has  been  given  us  for 
several  days.  Had  hoped  that  the  advent  of  cold  weather 
would  diminish  the  quantity  of  vermin  with  which  we  are 
infested,  but  find  it  necessary  to  be  eternally  vigilant  in 
order  to  keep  them  under  control.  They  hug  close  this 
weather. 

"'Thursday,  October  27th.  Had  rations  of  bread  to 
day  made  of  half  corn  meal  and  half  wheat  flour ;  found  it 
very  good,  but  greatly  lacking  in  quantity.  Am  obliged  to 
sleep  on  the  bare  floor,  with  no  covering.  For  a  pillow  I 
wrap  my  glazed  cap  cover  around  a  brick.  We  are  so 
crowded  we  have  to  lie  "spoon  fashion,"  and  when  one 
desires  to  turn  he  must  wait  for  others  to  do  so,  as  there 
is  not  space  for  us  to  lie  as  we  prefer. 

"  '  Friday,  October  28th.  Bought  more  molasses  to-day 
and  managed  to  get  a  little  salt ;  the  latter  I  sprinkled 
upon  the  crust  of  my  bread  after  soaking  it,  thus  making 
it  more  palatable.  Begin  to  feel  the  effects  of  idleness. 
Time  drags  heavily  with  nothing  to  occupy  our  thoughts 
or  hands.  The  one  absorbing  theme  of  conversation  is 
"  exchange." 

"  '  Saturday,  October  29th.  Fifteen  more  officers  were 
added  to  our  number  to-day.  They,  with  three  hundred 
of  their  men,  having  been  held  as  hostages  since  August 
last. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  379 

"  '  Sunday,  October  3Oth.  Preaching  services  were  held 
and  nearly  every  one  attended.  No  excuses  can  be  framed 
here  for  staying  "  at  home  "  from  church. 

"  '  Monday,  October  3151.  Had  rations  of  wheat  bread. 
Have  been  in  prison  one  month,  and  can  see  no  prospect 
of  being  paroled  or  exchanged. 

"'Tuesday,  November  ist.  Rainy.  We  are  thankful 
to  have  a  tight  roof  over  our  heads.  Our  boys  in  Salisbury 
are  without  this  boon.  It  is  reported  that  hostages  are  to 
be  selected  from  our  number  to  be  held  against  two  rebel 
spies,  held  by  the  government  and  under  sentence  to  be 
executed. 

"  *  Tuesday,  November  8th.  Election  day  at  home. 
We  took  a  vote  for  president.  Whole  number  of  votes 
cast,  three  hundred  and  ninety-seven ;  Lincoln  had  a 
majority  of  two  hundred.  This  was  my  first  vote.  Have 
had  no  meat  for  several  days.  Heavy  frost  last  night ; 
ice  formed. 

"  'Thursday,  November  loth.  More  rumors  are  current 
that  an  exchange  of  prisoners  will  soon  be  made.  My 
money  is  getting  low.  Tried  to  borrow  some  from  the 
officer  for  whom  I  saved  a  hundred  dollar  bill  at  Peters 
burg,  but  he  refused  my  request,  though  I  offered  to  pay 
two  dollars  for  one  when  we  might  be  released. 

"'  Sunday,  November  i3th.  Last  night  was  Very  cold. 
Preaching  to-day  by  the  chaplain.  Our  rations  for  the 
past  week  have  been  more  scanty  than  ever. 

"'Monday,  November  i4th.  A  dull  day.  No  news  or 
rumors  of  any  kind.  Are  entirely  out  of  fuel,  and  our 
rations  of  bread  have  again  been  reduced.  Quite  an  ex 
citement  was  created  by  the  discovery  that  some  one  had 
been  stealing.  It  will  be  a  sorry  day  for  him  who  may  be 
caught  at  it. 

"'Tuesday,   November   i5th.       News  from  the   North 


380  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

brings  the  report  of  Lincoln's  election.  Cheering.  Good 
humor  pervades  our  ranks.  My  chum,  Lieutenant  Sims, 
of  the  Fifty-First  New  York,  borrowed  ten  dollars  in 
Confederate  money,  and  we  have  spent  the  afternoon  in 
considering  the  most  advisable  method  of  using  it.  Finally 
decided  to  invest  it  in  salt  and  tobacco. 

"  *  Saturday,  November  iQth.  A  protest  was  forwarded 
to  the  commander  of  this  post,  complaining  of  the  lack  of 
food  and  fuel.  Hunger  is  telling  severely  on  some  of  the 
prisoners.  Strong  talk  is  indulged,  on  the  part  of  many, 
of  an  attempt  to  break  jail.  The  project  is  not  favored  by 
all,  as  it  is  regarded  by  the  more  cautious  of  our  number 
as  almost  impossible  to  get  through  to  our  lines  during 
this  season  of  the  year.  Travelling  could  only  be  done  at 
night,  and  the  cold  weather  would  make  sleeping  in  barns 
and  out  of  doors  attended  with  such  exposure  as  to  be 
unendurable.  We  are  poorly  clad,  and,  withal,  the  chances 
are  decidedly  against  success. 

"'Thursday,  November  24th.  A  very  cold  day.  No 
fuel  in  the  prison.  Thanksgiving  at  home.  How  we 
would  like  to  clean  out  the  plates  that  will  be  set  aside, 
half  emptied,  in  Northern  homes  this  noon.  Our  chaplain 
started  for  Richmond  to  be  exchanged. 

'"Friday,  November  25th.  News  reached  us  of  an 
attempted  outbreak  by  our  men  at  Salisbury.  This  gives 
impetus  to  the  feeling  in  favor  of  a  similar  undertaking  here. 

" '  Monday,  November  28th.  Wrote  a  letter  to  an 
acquaintance  in  the  South,  asking  assistance,  but  doubt  if 
my  appeal  gets  much  further  than  the  prison  door.  Had 
a  ration  of  wheat  bread.  Begged  some  turnip  peelings 
and  a  piece  of  an  onion.  Hunger  makes  one  bold  in  his 
attempts  to  satisfy  it. 

"  'Thursday,  December  ist.  One  of  the  guards  fired  at 
an  officer  who  was  in  the  first  story  of  the  building,  but 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  381 

missed  his  mark,  and  the  bullet  passed  through  the  floor 
of  the  second  story,  striking  another  officer  who  was  sitting 
upon  the  floor  playing  cards.  It  is  unsafe  for  one  to 
approach  a  window,  as  many  of  the  guards  shoot  whenever 
they  can  see  a  head. 

"'Friday,  December  2d.  The  guards  who  have  been 
on  detail  here  have  been  ordered  to  the  front.  Sold  my 
boots  to  one  of  them  for  forty  dollars  in  Confederate 
money  and  a  second-hand  pair  of  shoes.  Sims  and  I  are 
happy  in  the  possession  of  so  much  money,  as  it  will  keep 
us  in  salt  and  tobacco  for  some  time  to  come. 

"'Tuesday,  December  6th.  The  old  guards  left  last 
night.  It  is  reported  that  many  of  them  have  deserted 
since  it  became  known  that  they  were  going  to  the  front. 
The  sentinels  who  now  watch  over  us  are  conscripts.  While 
the  reliefs  were  being  changed  to-day  one  of  our  officers 
discovered  his  uncle  as  a  rebel  soldier.  The  meeting  was 
a  surprise  to  both.  The  "  reb  "  said  he  was  sorry  to  see 
his  nephew  defending  such  a  cause  and  hoped  his  im 
prisonment  would  afford  him  opportunity  to  repent  the 
error  of  his  way. 

"  '  Wednesday,  December  yth.  The  barracks  in  which 
our  guards  are  quartered  took  fire  last  night ;  our  only 
regret  is  that  every  soul  of  them  had  not  been  cremated. 
Salt  has  advanced  in  price  thirty  cents  per  pound.  One 
of  the  prisoners  received  a  box  of  clothing  and  food  from 
a  friend  in  Richmond. 

"  '  Friday,  December  9th.  Storm  of  hail  and  snow.  On 
hearing  that  the  guard  had  been  removed  and  that  the 
citizens  of  the  place  were  doing  duty  in  their  stead,  some 
of  the  prisoners  attempted  to  break  jail.  The  attempt  was 
led. by  Colonel  Rallston,  of  the  Twenty-Fourth  New  York, 
who,  with  others,  seized  the  sentinels  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  building  and  disarmed  them  ;  but  a  shot  from  some 


382  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

one  outside  brought  reinforcements  and  caused  a  stampede 
of  our  men  up  stairs.  Finding  himself  unsupported, 
Rallston  attempted  to  reach  the  stairs,  but  received  a 
mortal  wound  before  he  could  gain  a  place  of  safety. 

<"  Sunday,  December  nth.  Fifty  more  prisoners 
arrived ;  thirty  from  Richmond  and  twenty  'from  the 
Cumberland  Mountains,  having  been  recaptured  after 
escaping  from  Columbia,  S.  C.  The  latter  were  in  a 
pitiable  condition. 

"  'Monday,  December  i2th.  The  recent  addition  to  our 
number  makes  the  place  so  crowded  that  it  is  almost  im 
possible  to  find  sleeping  room.  I  am  in  the  second  story, 
and  when  I  lie  down  at  night  I  suffer  much  with  cold,  as 
the  wind  blows  through  the  cracks  in  the  floor  and  chills 
me  to  the  very  bones.  It  is  impossible  to  keep  warm. 
There  is  but  one  stove  in  the  room,  and  when  there  is  any 
fire  in  it  one  finds  it  very  difficult  to  get  near  it.  Men 
crowd  about  it  early  in  the  morning  and  hold  their  posi 
tions  until  they  get  "wedged"  out. 

"'Wednesday,  December  i4th.  Boys  are  now  guarding 
us.  One  of  them  attempted  to  make  a  target  of  me  as  I 
was  trying  to  repair  a  crack  in  a  window  that  admitted  a 
current  of  cold  air. 

"'Thursday,  December  i5th.  Colonel  Rallston,  who 
was  shot  in  the  Attempted  outbreak,  died  to-day.  Rumors 
are  afloat  that  our  troops  have  obtained  possession  of  the 
Weldon  Railroad.  There  was  great  commotion  in  the 
town  during  the  night.  We  hear  of  General  Sherman's 
operations  in  the  South,  and  are  told  that  we  shall  have 
him  and  his  army  for  company  before  long.  Another 
prisoner  was  shot.  It  is  reported  that  the  poor  people  in 
Danville  are  in  a  starving  condition. 

"'Thursday,  December  22d.  The  shortest  day  in  the 
year ;  but  long  enough  for  us  to  get  up  an  appetite  for  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  383 

miserable  rations  of  bread  that  were  served  us  late  in 
the  afternoon. 

"  '  Saturday,  December  24th.  Have  been  quite  unwell 
to-day.  Had  an  attack  of  fever  and  ague.  It  is  a  week 
since  any  meat  was  served  us.  Had  rations  of  unsavory 
potatoes ;  they  had  evidently  been  frost-bitten.  This  is 
Christmas  Eve,  but  not  a  very  merry  one  for  us.  It  is  re 
ported  that  there  is  clothing  for  us  in  Richmond,  sent 
through  by  the  government. 

"'January  9th,  1865.  Had  rations  of  wheat  bread  and 
a  small  piece  of  meat  —  the  first  of  the  latter  we  have  had 
for  nearly  three  weeks.  How  we  long  to  be  free  ! 

"'January  i8th.  Rebel  papers  make  mention  of  the 
meeting  of  the  commissioners  of  exchange,  and  our  hopes 
run  high.  Lieutenant  Whitbeck,  of  the  Fifty-First  New 
York,  died  last  night.  Received  news  of  the  capture  of 
Fort  Fisher  by  our  forces.  The  traders  in  Danville  are 
closing  their  stores  and  refusing  to  sell  goods  for  Confed 
erate  money ;  a  good  omen  to  us. 

"  'January  igth.  We  can  buy  no  more  flour,  as  there  is 
none  to  be  had.  Those  of  our  number  who  have  money 
cannot  make  use  of  it  to  any  great  extent. 

"  '  A  silver  dollar  is  reported  to  have  been  sold  at  auction 
in  Richmond  for  sixty-five  dollars  paper  money.  Rumor 
has  it  that  the  white  flag  is  flying  over  Richmond. 

"'January  2ist.  Rainy  day.  Reports  regarding  a 
speedy  exchange  are  very  encouraging.  I  was  appointed 
commissary  of  our  mess  (fourteen)  ;  my  duties  being  to 
draw  the  rations  and  distribute  them  among  the  members 
of  the  mess. 

"  '  January  25th.  General  Hayes  and  Lieutenant  Lucas 
left  for  Richmond  on  parole,  and  are  to  have  charge  of 
the  distribution  of  supplies  for  the  prisoners  furnished  by 
the  government. '  It  is  nearly  four  months  since  I  was 


384  HISTORY   OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

taken  prisoner,  and  during  that  time  I  have  not  been  per 
mitted  to  wash  my  clothes,  though  the  river  Dan  flows 
within  sight  of  the  prison. 

"  '  February  ist.  Colonel  Hooper,  of  the  Twenty-Fourth 
Massachusetts,  left  for  Richmond  to  assist  General  Hayes, 
Lieutenant  Lucas  having  been  exchanged.  The  prospect 
of  receiving  clothing  and  favorable  reports  concerning 
exchange  give  buoyancy  to  our  spirits,  and  we  indulge  in 
speculations  as  to  what  we  shall  do  and  what  we  shall  eat 
when  we  get  into  a  Christian  land.  I  frequently  dream  of 
feasting.  Our  rations  to-day  consisted  of  a  pint  of  gruel 
—  nothing  else. 

"  '  February  3d.  Lieutenant  Quimby,  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Fifty-Fifth  New  York,  escaped  last  night.  The  rebels 
do  not  know  it  yet.  It  is  fifteen  days  since  we  tasted  meat. 

"  '  February  5th.  Have  suffered  much  of  late  with  pains 
in  my  limbs.  Find  it  difficult  at  times  to  walk.  Two  more 
officers  escaped  last  night.  It  is  stated  that  between  three 
and  five  thousand  of  our  men  have  died  in  Salisbury  since 
we  left  there. 

"  'February  i2th.  During  the  past  week  have  been  so 
sick  with  inflammatory  rheumatism  that  I  have  been 
unable  to  write.  Am  now  in  the  hospital.  I  received, 
yesterday,  a  letter  from  home  with  a  bill  of  exchange  on 
London.  Clothing  has  arrived  from  Washington  and  is 
being  distributed.  The  patients  in  the  "  hospital "  get 
only  corn  bread  to  eat ;  not  a  delicacy  of  any  kind  is 
provided.  The  rebels  are  evidently  hard  pushed  to  feed 
themselves.  Papers  from  Richmond  say  that  an  exchange 
of  prisoners  will  begin  in  a  few  days,  and  those  patients 
who  are  able  are  going  back  to  the  prison  in  order  to 
stand  a  chance  of  getting  away  among  the  first',  it  being 
reported  that  one  thousand  men  leave  here  to-morrow  for 
Richmond.  This  news  acts  as  a  tonic  upon  every  inmate 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  385 

of  the  hospital,  and  we  entertain  inspiring  thoughts  of 
"  Home,  sweet  home." 

"  '  February  lyth.  One  thousand  of  our  men,  including 
all  the  officers,  left  for  Richmond  to  be  exchanged.  Lieu 
tenant  Willard,  of  the  Ninth  New  York,  died  last  night. 

"  '  February  igih.  This  morning  the  announcement  was 
made  that  those  who  were  able  to  walk  to  the  station 
might  prepare  themselves  to  start  for  Richmond.  I  had 
hardly  been  able  to  stand  upon  my  feet  for  a  week,  but  I 
needed  no  second  invitation  to  make  ready  for  my  de 
parture.  Others  made  the  attempt  who  were  less  able 
than  myself,  some  of  them  being  sick  with  fever ;  but  the 
desire  for  home  and  the  meeting  with  loved  ones  far  away 
impelled  them  to  undertake  seeming  impossibilities.  A 
dozen  or  more  of  us  were  soon  ready,  and,  locking  arms 
in  threes  (the  weakest  in  the  centre),  we  started  on  our 
way  to  the  station.  Our  path,  fortunately,  lay  mostly  down 
hill.  We  were  obliged  to  pass  over  a  piece  of  ploughed 
ground,  which  rendered  walking  very  slow  and  painful, 
especially  to  one  suffering  with  rheumatism.  After  reach 
ing  the  main  road,  which  led  to  the  station,  we  were  joined 
by  a  number  of  our  men,  who  assisted  us  to  the  depot,  carry 
ing  some  of  the  feebler  ones  in  their  arms.  We  left  Dan 
ville  at  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  freight  cars,  the 
sick  having  no  special  provision  made  for  them.  Five  died 
on  the  train  before  we  reached  Richmond.  Late  at  night 
we  arrived  at  our  destination  and  were  placed  in  Libby 
Prison, the  invalids  being  sent  to  the  "hospital"  (so  called). 

"  '  February  2oth.  Had  a  good  rest  last  night.  Rumors 
are  current  that  the  rebels  have  evacuated  Charleston. 
Received  a  box  from  home.  Many  a  stout-hearted  fellow 
shed  tears  of  joy  as  he  unpacked  his  parcel,  prepared  by 
loving  hands,  that  had  now  reached  him,  over  the  ranks 
of  a  rebellious  foe  and  through  prison  walls. 


386  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

"'February  22d.  Washington's  Birthday.  A  more 
charming  one  could  not  have  been  desired.  We  left  Libby 
Prison  this  morning,  the  sick  being  placed  on  board  a  canal 
boat,  and  the  others  walking  across  the  city  to  the  flag  of 
truce  steamer.  The  streets  of  Richmond  never  rang  to 
the  tread  of  more  joyous  or  more  sympathy-deserving  men 
than  these  who  were  about  to  pass  out  of  this  land  of 
bondage  into  one  "flowing  with  milk  and  honey." 

" '  The  scene  on  board  the  canal  boat  was  calculated  to 
touch  the  heart  of  one  who  could  be  moved  to  compassion  at 
the  sight  of  suffering.  The  most  of  the  men  had  exhausted 
nearly  all  their  nervous  power  in  their  effort  to  get  to 
the  point  they  had  now  reached,  and  seemed  unable  to 
participate  in  the  joy  they  had  long  looked  for  and  which 
was  now  so  close  at  hand.  Progress  down  the  river  was 
slow,  as  the  channel  was  obstructed  with  sunken  torpedoes, 
among  which  we  were  piloted  with  great  caution.  The 
knowledge  of  our  danger  from  this  source  kept  us  in  a 
state  of  apprehension  until  we  were  again  on  terra  firma. 
A  sharp  turn  in  the  river  brought  us  in  sight  of  the  landing 
at  which  we  were  to  be  exchanged.  The  able-bodied  of 
our  number  had  preceded  us  and  we  found  an  ambulance 
train  in  waiting  to  transport  us  to  the  Union  lines.  On 
the  banks  of  the  stream  were  a  number  of  rebel  prisoners, 
who  were  to  return  to  Richmond.  Their  appearance  was 
in  great  contrast  with  our  own.  Each  of  them  was  com 
fortably  clad  and  provided  with  a  blanket  and  well-filled 
haversack,  while  we  were  a  horde  of  hungry,  emaciated, 
half-naked,  half-starved  beings,  victims  of  the  most  bar 
barous  system  that  could  be  devised  by  perfidious  and 
abandoned  men,  and  for  the  continuance  of  which  high 
officials  in  the  national  government  were  not  without 
blame.  Once  in  the  ambulances  we  began  to  realize  some 
of  the  blessings  that  pertain  to  civilization.  The  wagons 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  387 

were  models  of  neatness;  every  provision  that  could  be 
furnished  "on  wheels"  for  our  comfort  was  there;  even 
the  horses  and  drivers  were  good  to  look  upon,  and 
the  hitherto  ugly  appearing  "  U.  S."  that  found  its  place 
on  every  article  we  used  in  the  army,  seemed  a  thing 
of  beauty.  Without  any  "long,  lingering  look  behind," 
we  were  soon  en  route  across  the  peninsula  of  disputed 
territory  that  lay  between  the  opposing  forces.  It  was  a 
gala  day.  A  suspension  of  hostilities  had  been  agreed 
upon,  and  for  the  first  time  in  many  months  there  was  not 
heard  by  either  army  the  booming  of  cannon  or  the  crack 
of  rifle.  The  air  was  calm  and  spring-like.  We  journeyed 
along  in  silence  until  a  rise  in  the  land  brought  us  suddenly 
in  sight  of  the  Union  lines  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  and  there  we  saw,  floating  over  the  ramparts,  the 
glorious  old  flag.  A  shout  of  joy  went  up,  as  wagon  after 
wagon  came  in  sight  of  the  treasured  emblem.  "  Lift 
me  up,  lift  me  up  and  let  me  see  it,"  said  a  fever-stricken 
comrade  at  my  side  —  and  big  tears  started  down  his- 
cheeks  as  he  gazed  in  silence  upon  its  waving  folds. 
Simultaneously  with  the  sight  of  the  flag  there  reached 
our  ears  the  strains  of  martial  music,  and  our  hearts  beat 
quick  as  we  listened  to  the  air  of 

"  '  "  The  Union  forever !    Hurrah  boys  ! !    Hurrah  ! !  " 

"  *  Reaching  Aiken's  landing,  we  found  the  transport 
City  of  New  York  in  waiting  for  us,  and  being  placed 
on  board,  were  soon  steaming  away  for  Annapolis,  Md., 
where  we  arrived  on  the  following  morning,  a  happy  throng 
of  men,  rejoicing  that  we  were  once  again  denizens  of 
"  THE  LAND  OF  THE  FREE."  '  " 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE    END    OF    THE    WAR,     1865. 

TOWARDS  the  end  of  March,  good  news  was  re 
ceived  from  General  Sherman  in  the  Carolinas,  and 
now  victorious  Sheridan,  with  his  heavy  columns  of  cav 
alry,  having  arrived  across  country  from  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  lay  for  a  day  or  two  in  rear  of 'Fort  Sedgwick,  rest 
ing  and  refitting.  Our  forces  seemed  to  be  closing  in  for 
the  last  struggle.  Every  one  was  upon  the  alert.  Our  men 
were  ordered  to  sleep  with  shoes  on,  and  the  cannoneers 
were  required  to  sleep  by  their  guns  and  keep  them  double- 
shotted  for  the  next  three  days.  Lee's  first  move  at  Fort 
Steadman  had  been  checkmated;  who  would  dare  the  next 
move  upon  the  chess-board  of  Fate  ? 

During  the  flurry  of  a  spring  shower  one  afternoon,  a 
man  was  seen  to  start  from  the  Confederate  side,  and 
clearing  the  interval  at  a  run,  get  safely  into  our  picket  line. 
He  was  dressed  in  gray,  but  was  oddly  decorated  with 
patches  of  blue  and  red  flannel,  in  imitation  of  small 
Confederate  flags,  etc.,  marking  his  intense  rebel  feeling; 
his  eyes  had  the  anxious,  watchful  glance  of  a  haunted 
man,  and  he  was  at  once  seen  to  be  something  out  of  the 
common  run  of  deserters.  When  questioned,  he  answered, 
to  our  surprise,  that  he  was  one  of  Sheridan's  scouts,  and 
had  come  through  the  Confederate  lines  from  the  valley; 
then  lifting  his  boot  he  unscrewed  the  heel  and  exhibited 
his  papers.  He  was  sent  to  the  cavalry  in  rear  with  his 


389  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

information.  Such  was  the  daring  of  the  agents  whom 
Sheridan  employed  to  obtain  the  knowledge  indispensable 
to  his  brilliant  achievements !  One  of  his  cavalrymen, 
however,  was  not  so  fortunate,  he  came  up  to  Lieutenant 
Loomis's  mortar-battery  to  visit  a  friend  and  staid  during 
the  afternoon  shelling ;  being  a  stranger,  the  bombs  did 
not  know  him,  and  he  was  torn  in  pieces  by  one  of  those 
ugly  fellows,  which  did  frightful  execution  when  they 
caught  the  unwary. 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  General  Sheridan  started, 
and,  at  three  o'clock  next  morning,  we  were  routed  out 
and  formed  to  meet  an  assault  from  the  Confederates, 
looked  for  as  a  counter  to  Sheridan's  attack  far  to  the  left ; 
the  troops  in  rear  were  brought  up  —  a  brigade  under 
Colonel  Carruth  being  under  arms  from  eleven  p.  M.  to 
one  A.  M.  between  us  and  Fort  Rice  —  and,  everything 
being  in  readiness,  of  course  the  enemy  did  not  show  them 
selves.  In  the  evening  long  and  detailed  orders  in  writing 
were  received  for  an  assault  by  our  whole  division  upon 
the  enemy's  lines  at  daylight  of  the  thirty-first.  Colonel 
Carruth  was  to  command  the  brigade,  and  Captain  Pope 
the  regiment.  We  were  in  line  of  battle  at  the  appointed 
time,  with  minds  made  up  for  the  charge  into  the  deadly 
breach,  but,  owing  to  the  muddy  condition  of  the  ground 
and  heavy  rains,  together  with  the,  as  yet,  uncertain  success 
of  Sheridan's  operations,  the  attack  was  deferred.  Ser 
geant  Conant,  of  Company  C,  hardly  back  from  hospital, 
where  he  had  been  since  his  severe  wound  at  the  Mine, 
was  again  badly  hurt  by  a  ball  in  the  arm,  while  moving 
about  in  the  fort. 

The  first  day  of  April  was  pleasant,  with  a  brisk  wind, 
drying  the  ground  considerably.  About  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening  our  Third  Division,  Hartranft's  Pennsylvanians, 
and  part  of  the  First  Division,  came  up  to  the  front  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  390 

were  massed  on  the  right  of  our  fort ;  and  the  abattis  and 
obstructions  in  front  were  quietly  removed  in  the  darkness. 
Several  of  the  generals  were  in  the  fort  examining  local 
ities.  Our  division,  General  Potter's,  was  massed  on  the 
left ;  but  the  garrisons  of  the  forts  were  not  placed  in  the 
columns  of  attack.  The  pioneers,  including  those  of 
the  Thirty-Fifth,  were  posted  at  the  head  of  columns,  to 
break  up  the  Confederate  abattis,  etc. ;  one  of  ours, 
McCarty,  of  Company  K,  was  wounded  in  this  duty. 
During  the  evening  the  Confederate  picket  line  had  been 
captured  on  our  left  opposite  Fort  Hays,  and  strong  feints 
were  made  around  to  our  right  near  the  Appomattox,  to 
keep  the  enemy  occupied  there,  and,  if  possible,  draw  more 
of  them  in  that  direction.  The  movements  had  the  effect 
to  thoroughly  waken  up  the  whole  line,  and  both  sides 
joined  in  an  infernal  combat,  with  all  the  guns  and  mortars 
that  could  be  brought  to  bear;  the  thunder  of  artillery 
was  continuous  and  the  darkness  of  night  lurid  with  ex 
ploding  shells.  The  regiment  stood  to  arms  during  most 
of  the  night  upon  the  banquette  of  the  fort.  The  mortar 
practice  upon  Fort  Sedgwick  was  especially  severe ;  but 
most  of  the  "  old  dinner  pots,"  as  the  boys  called  them, 
passed  over  into  the  interior  of  the  works  and  tore  up  our 
quarters,  sparing  the  quondam  occupants ;  several,  how 
ever,  struck  among  our  men,  one  of  these  horribly  mangling 
two  men  of  Company  E. 

It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  still  very  dark, 
when  the  columns  of  assault  moved  forward  with  the 
trampling  of  many  feet  and  orders  passed  in  a  low  tone, 
sounding  like  the  rush  of  autumn  winds  among  the  leaves. 
The  Confederate  pickets  gave  the  alarm  and  their  artillery 
opened  with  canister  and  spherical  case,  depressing  the 
guns,  but,  to  us,  seemingly  firing  over  the  heads  of  the 
charging  troops.  An  eight-inch  Columbiad  and  some 


391  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    RE.GIMENT, 

howitzers  mounted  in  the  enemy's  interior  line  threw  grape, 
much  of  which  passed  over  the  right  of  the  fort,  and  was 
noticed  by  the  marked  difference  in  sound  from  the  other 
missiles  to  which  our  ears  were  accustomed.  Very  soon 
after,  loud  cheering  from  the  front  announced  the  success 
of  the  assault  —  it  was  too  dark  to  see  anything  but  the 
flashes  of  the  guns.  The  Confederate  main  line,  to  the 
right  and  left  of  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  was  seized ; 
General  Hartranft's  division  capturing  about  a  dozen 
cannon,  with  flags,  and  over  six  hundred  prisoners.  On 
the  left  the  work  was  more  difficult,  the  point  of  attack 
being  Fort  Mahone  and  the  more  heavily  built  earthworks  ; 
the  gallant  old  Sixth  New  Hampshire  took  four  guns  and 
a  lodgment  was  effected  at  this  point  also.  The  Fifty- 
Sixth  Massachusetts  and  Fifth  Massachusetts  battery 
distinguished  themselves  by  heroic  conduct.  The  guns 
captured  were,  as  far  as  possible,  turned  upon  the  enemy, 
who  had  retired  to  a  shorter  interior  line  —  and  cannoneers 
were  sent  from  the  forts  to  handle  them,  which  they  did 
with  the  most  intrepid  daring  and  persistence  during  the 
following  day. 

At  daylight  we  could  see  our  blue-coats  occupying  the 
earthworks  they  had  taken,  but  unable  to  drive  the  Con 
federates  from  their  interior  works,  which  had  been  pre 
pared  by  them  in  anticipation  of  the  loss  of  their  outer 
line.  Not  only  were  our  men  unable  to  proceed  further, 
but  it  soon  began  to  be  a  question  whether  they  could 
retain  the  advantage  they  had  gained.  General  Lee,  present 
in  person  near  the  great  Columbiad,  overlooking  the  whole 
scene,  now  exerted  every  endeavor  to  recapture  his  works; 
his  men  charging  upon  ours  again  and  again,  during  the 
day,  but  unsuccessfully,  except  that  they  reoccupied  part 
of  the  interior  of  Fort  Mahone. 

Our  regiment,  nominally  in  Fort  Sedgwick,  was  really 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  392 

scattered  all  over  the  field,  carrying  ammunition,  each 
man  taking  a  couple  of  case  shot  for  the  artillery  or  a 
quantity  of  cartridges,  and  crossing  the  bullet-swept  space 
between  the  lines,  time  after  time,  creeping  into  the  most 
exposed  places  to  deliver  their  loads  into  the  hands  of  the 
gunners.  In  this  work  they  were  so  useful  and  displayed 
so  much  coolness  and  bravery  as  to  draw  marked  attention  • 
the  German  recruits  entered  into  it  zealously,  and  proved 
themselves  good  soldiers  that  day  beyond  all  question. 
Spencer  repeating  rifles  were  used  by  some  of  our  regi 
ments  in  this  action,  for  the  first  time  in  our  experience, 
and  we  delivered  a  large,  supply  of  the  ammunition  to  the 
troops  thus  armed. 

About  two  in  the  afternoon  the  pressure  upon  our  troops 
had  become  so  heavy,  reinforcements  were  sent  up  from 
City  Point  and  elsewhere ;  among  them  the  Sixty- First 
Massachusetts  regiment,  under  Colonel  C.  F.  Walcott, 
formerly  of  the  Twenty-First  Massachusetts,  with  whom 
was  Lieutenant  Edw.  H.  Morrill,  one  of  the  original  mem 
bers  of  Company  G  of  our  regiment ;  with  them  also  was 
a  regiment  of  zouaves,,  in  a  flaming  red  uniform,  which  was 
soon  spattered  with  the  mud  from  the  ditches  in  front  of 
Fort  "  Damnation."  They  made  a  successful  assault  and 
occupied  the  parapet  of  Fort  Mahone,  holding  it  per 
manently. 

In  the  meantime  the  rest  of  the  army  was  not  idle. 
Sheridan  and  the  Fifth  Corps  were  busy  at  Five  Forks, 
and  the  Sixth  and  Second  Corps  and  parts  of  the  Twenty- 
Fourth  and  Twenty-Fifth  Corps,  nearer  to  us,  had  swept 
around  with  splendid  success,  over  the  Boydton  pike  and 
the  Southside  Railroad,  to  the  Appomattox ;  completing 
the  envelopment  of  Petersburg  and  cutting  the  Confeder 
ate  army  in  halves.  General  A.  P.  Hill  was  killed.  General 
Lee  saw  that  his  lines  were  broken  irreparably  and  no 


393  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

longer  tenable,  and  informed  President  Davis  that  Rich 
mond  and  Petersburg  must  be  evacuated  that  night. 

The  hours  of  the  night  of  April  2d  were  busily  employed 
by  both  sides,  and  little  sleep  was  obtained  by  any  one ; 
the  Confederates  were  silently  withdrawing  from  the  lines 
they  had  held  so  long  and  so  bravely,  while  our  men  were 
turning  the  captured  earthworks  and  reversing  the  abattis, 
as  yet  uncertain  of  the  morrow.  Towards  morning  heavy 
explosions  echoed  along  the  hills  from  the  direction  of 
Richmond  —  the  blowing  up  of  the  Confederate  gunboats 
on  James  River  —  and  the  red  glow  of  fires  shone  through 
the  darkness.  We  remembered  the  night  before  Jackson, 
Mississippi,  and  easily  predicted  that  the  enemy  would  be 
gone  in  the  morning.  The  skirmishers  advanced  before 
daylight  on  the  third,  and  occupied  the  now  abandoned 
interior  line  without  resistance.  Loud  cheering  announced 
the  fact  to  the  lines  of  battle  in  rear,  and  the  joyful  news 
was  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  with  hearty  congratula 
tions.  The  sun  rose  bright  and  clear  and  added  to  the 
happiness  of  the  moment. 

A  hurried  examination  of  the  captured  fortifications  was 
permitted  to  most  of  the  men,  and  the  severity  of  the 
action  of  the  day  before  was  apparent  to  the  most  cursory 
view.  The  dead  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers  lay  as 
they  had  fallen.  There  was  something  extremely  pitiable 
in  the  fate  of  these  poor  fellows  who  had  lost  their  lives 
in  this  our  last  battle  ;  they  had  so  nearly  survived  to  the 
happiness  in  which  we  were  now  so  secure. 

In  the  assault  General  Potter  had  been  severely  wounded, 
and  General  Griffin  succeeded  to  the  command  of  our 
division.  Assistant  Adjutant-General  Peckham  was  mor 
tally  wounded,  Colonel  Gowan  of  the  Forty-Eighth  Penn 
sylvania  was  killed,  and  many  of  our  old  acquaintances 
were  in  the  list  of  wounded.  The  Thirty-Fifth  had  three 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  394 

men  killed  and  nine  wounded.  The  dead  were  Max  Riese 
and  Charles  Schultz  of  Company  E,  and  Oscar  Becker  of 
Company  K.  The  total  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  of  the 
Ninth  Corps,  from  March  2Qth  to  April  Qth,  was  1,548,  as 
reckoned  by  General  Humphreys ;  of  the  army,  8,268. 

During  the  affair  an  elongated  shell  swept  across  the 
officers'  mess  table  and  struck  Dr.  Carr's  medicine  chest, 
knocking  the  phials,  bottles  and  boxes  into  "  smithereens," 
and  mixing  compounds  not  laid  down  in  the  prescription 
book;  intended  evidently  as  a  hint  that  such  stuff  would 
be  of  little  use  hereafter,  and  the  best  medicine,  a  discharge 
paper,  would  soon  be  forthcoming. 

After  a  hurried  breakfast,  the  division  was  assembled 
for  the  first  time  since  the  previous  December,  and,  quitting 
the  now  useless  bomb-proofs  and  burrows  of  Fort  Hell,  we 
marched  through  the  Confederate  works  upon  the  Jeru 
salem  plank  road.  Half  way  between  these  intrenchments 
and  the  city,  while  at  a  halt,  we  were  surprised  by  the 
appearance  of  our  beloved  President  Lincoln,  Secretary 
Seward  and  Admiral  Porter,  who  came  up  on  horseback 
from  City  Point.  They  rode  swiftly  through  the  column 
amid  the  enthusiastic  cheering  of  the  troops.  It  was  a  day 
of  compensations  for  the  long-tried,  much-enduring  Lincoln, 
and  the  last  time  our  eyes  rested  upon  his  rugged  face. 

After  this  battle  an  innovation  was  introduced  which  we, 
at  first,  thought  must  be  a  joke.  A  requisition  was  re 
ceived  from  the  higher  authorities  for  the  name  of  one 
officer  of  the  regiment  who  had  distinguished  himself  in 
the  late  action.  The  notion  that  meritorious  conduct  in 
battle  was  to  receive  immediate  recognition  from  head 
quarters  struck  us  as  a  new  rule  in  the  management  of  our 
army.  Nevertheless  it  was  seriously  answered,  and  the 
name  of  Lieutenant  Geo.  F.  Worcester  was  forwarded,  as 
by  general  consent  conspicuously  brave  and  useful  in  the 


395  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

fight.  Somebody  was  in  earnest,  for  Worcester  in  due 
time  received  honorary  promotion  to  the  brevet  rank  of 
captain.  The  name  of  Colonel  Carruth  was  sent  in  from 
corps  headquarters  at  the  same  time  for  promotion  to 
brevet  brigadier-general,  which  was  also  conferred,  to  date 
April  2d,  1865.  Subsequently  Captain  Pope  received  the 
brevets  of  major  and  lieutenant-colonel,  to  date  March  13, 
1865,  for  meritorious  conduct  before  Petersburg.  Captain 
Tobey  received  the  brevet  of  major ;  Captain  Gottlieb  was 
also  brevetted  major. 

The  announcement  of  the  fall  of  Richmond  added,  if 
possible,  to  the  enthusiasm.  In  close  column,  with  colors 
displayed  and  drums  beating,  the  Ninth  Corps  moved 
down  the  hill  and  into  the  city  of  Petersburg,  passing  the 
ruins,  still  smoking,  of  the  warehouses  burned  by  the 
Confederates,  and  turned  to  the  left  and  southwest;  our 
position  upon  the  extreme  right  bringing  us  in  rear  of  the 
army  now  in  pursuit  of  Lee  in  the  direction  of  Lynchburg. 
We  marched  out  about  ten  miles  and  went  into  bivouac 
near  Sutherland  Station  on  the  Southside  Railroad. 

Thenceforward,  distant  cannonade  could  be  heard  from 
day  to  day  as  we  followed  along  the  railroad,  guarding  the 
track  and  the  army  trains ;  but  all  signs  of  opposition  to 
the  government  had  vanished  with  the  retreating  enemy. 
On  the  fourth  we  marched  about  ten  miles  and  reached  the 
railroad  near  Ford's  Station.  On  the  fifth,  seventeen 
miles  were  traversed,  bringing  our  bivouac  near  Blacks 
and  Whites  Station  —  Jones  House  —  and  on  the  sixth 
passing  Nottaway  Court  House,  we  reached  by  a  march  of 
eighteen  miles,  prolonged  until  late  in  the  evening,  to  near 
Burkville,  the  junction  of  the  railroad  we  were  upon-  with 
the  Richmond  and  Danville  Railroad,  and  at  that  time  the 
headquarters  of  the  army. 

On  the  same  sixth  of  April  was  fought   the  battle  of 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  396 

Sailor's  Creek,  between  the  Confederate  rear  and  the  pur 
suing  cavalry  of  Sheridan  and  the  Second  and  Sixth  Corps, 
with  the  grand  success  of  the  capture  of  General  Ewell 
and  seven  other  generals,  with  one  hundred  officers  and 
over  five  thousand  men,  Ewell's  Division.  On  the  seventh, 
at  noon,  these  prisoners  arrived  at  Burkville  and  passed 
our  regiment,  which  had  moved  during  the  morning  from 
the  east  to  the  west  side  of  the  junction.  One  of  the  most 
mirth-provoking  scenes  during  the  war  was  the  appearance 
of  a  train  of  artillery,  six  of  the  best  steel  guns,  which, 
with  harness  of  russet  leather  mounted  with  silver,  had 
been  presented  to  the  Confederacy  by  sympathizers  in 
England.  These  were  now  dragged  through  the  mire  by 
diminutive  mules  bestridden  by  the  longest  and  lankest  of 
"Johnnies,"  their  felt  hats  flapping  over  the  sternest  of 
faces,  their  feet  almost  dragging  in  the  mud,  the  splendid 
harness  now  tarnished  and  dirty,  the  whole  presenting  a 
contrast  so  striking  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  restrain  a 
burst  of  laughter  in  the  faces  of  the  gaunt  artillerists,  who 
seemed  to  be  in  any  other  mood  than  the  mirthful  one. 
Naval  officers  and  generals  trudged  through  the  execrable 
roads  in  a  companionship  of  misery  quite  abject.  Our 
boys  shared  their  rations  with  the  half-starved  prisoners. 
At  night,  we  again  moved  back  to  the  east  side  of  the 
station,  to  form  part  of  the  cordon  surrounding  the  captured 
division.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hudson  joined  from  fur 
lough,  in  the  happiest  mood  over  the  events  that  had 
occurred  during  his  absence. 

In  the  morning  we  had  an  opportunity  to  talk  with  the 
prisoners,  and  found  most  of  them  hopeless  of  success  and 
content  that  the  end  was  near.  Some,  however,  were 
either  really  or  pretendedly  still  full  of  fight,  vowing  they 
would  never  give  up,  but  would  continue  the  contest  as 
guerillas  in  the  mountains  if  not  capable  of  other  warfare. 


397  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Many  of  them  were  fine  appearing,  well  built  men,  fit  to 
be  the  flower  of  any  army. 

At  noon,  on  the  eighth,  the  prisoners  were  sent  to  the 
rear,  towards  Petersburg,  under  guard  of  the  Forty-Eighth 
Pennsylvania  and  Thirty-Ninth  New  Jersey,  and,  on  the 
ninth,  the  regiment,  with  the  rest  of  the  brigade,  resumed 
the  march  westward,  passing  the  scene  of  the  battle  at 
Sailor's  Creek  —  the  earthworks,  newly-made  graves  and 
torn  up  field.  At  night,  the  rail  fences  burning  along  the 
road  illuminated  the  march,  which  was  difficult,  owing  to 
the  depth  of  the  mud,  and  was  continued  to  weariness 
until  late  in  the  evening,  past  Rice's  Station  to  the  heights 
overlooking  the  valley  spanned  by  the  famous  High  Bridge. 
As  we  moved  along  during  the  day  occassional  cannon 
could  be  heard  far  in  advance,  but  it  did  not  then  occur  to 
us  that  these  were  the  expiring  throbs  of  the  Confederacy; 
we  anticipated  a  long  hunt  in  the  mountains  before  the  end 
of  all ;  but  the  dilatory  ways  of  the  early  days  of  the  war 
were  no  longer  in  fashion.  Sheridan  and  Ord  and  the  sev 
eral  corps  of  the  army  were  well  to  the  front  and  had  Lee 
surrounded  before  he  was  aware  of  it.  On  the  tenth  we 
reached  Farmville,  the  largest  town  we  had  seen  since 
Petersburg,  with  handsome  brick  houses,  churches  and 
schools,  situated  in  a  rich  tobacco  country.  Here  rumors 
of  a  surrender  were  whispered,  and  during  the  day  con 
firmed.  General  Lee  and  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
had  capitulated  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  April 
9th,  at  Appomattox  Court  House  !  The  regiment  was 
formed  in  a  hollow  square  and  Colonel  Carruth  read  the 
official  announcement  of  the,  to  us,  glorious  event.  The 
boys  were  wild  with  joy,  cheers  followed  cheers,  and  there 
was  a  general  hand-shaking  and  embracing,  impromptu 
dances,  summersaults,  caps  thrown  up,  and  every  demon 
stration  of  delight.  It  was  difficult  to  take  in  at  once  the 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  398 

momentous  results :  that  this  was  quite  certain  to  end  the 
war;  that  guards  and  pickets  would  henceforth  be  but 
mere  police  regulations ;  that  the  musket  and  sword  might 
rust  among  the  useless  lumber  of  the  past ;  and  we  soon 
return  to  our  homes  free  citizens  again.  To  the  soldiers 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  who  had  faced  the  Confederate 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  so  long,  language  could  hardly 
express  more  than  was  compressed  in  the  three  words  : 
"  Lee  has  surrendered  !  " 

Our  brigade  remained  at  Farmville  from  the  tenth  to 
the  twentieth  of  April,  our  regimental  camp  being  pitched 
in  regular  form  on  the  ridge  west  of  the  town.  Company 
H  was  detailed  for  picket  at  the  fork  of  the  roads  about  a 
mile  out,  and  remained  there,  from  choice,  during  the  stay 
at  this  place.  The  paroled  men  of  Lee's  army  were 
making  their  way  to  their  homes,  by  road  or  rail,  on  foot 
or  horseback,  as  they  had  means ;  and  the  amusement  of 
our  leisure  was  to  chat  with  them  about  the  events  of  the 
war  and  their  feelings  and  expectations ;  they  were  glad 
that  peace  was  now  assured.  General's  Grant  and  Ord 
passed  through  Farmville ;  also  General  Lee  quietly  re 
turned  from  the  scene  of  his  misfortunes. 

On  the  sixteenth  there  was  a  report  of  the  assassination 
of  President  Lincoln,  which  seemed  too  incredible  for 
belief ;  but  it  was  confirmed  on  the  seventeenth,  and  the 
indignation  and  horror  of  the  army  at  such  treachery  were 
unspeakable.  There  were  fears  that,  in  the  first  excite 
ment,  the  soldiers  would  wreak  their  desire  for  vengeance 
upon  the  unoffending  citizens  of  the  country  about  us,  and 
strict  orders  were  issued  to  keep  the  regiments  of  the 
brigade  in  camp,  and  under  arms,  to  prevent  any  disorder 
on  the  part  of  detachments  returning  from  Appomattox ; 
Colonel  Carruth  was  notified  that  his  regiment  would  be 
called  upon  in  case  of  disturbance.  The  people  of  the 


399  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

vicinity  showed  feelings  of  deep  regret,  and,  in  the  course 
of  a  service  held  in  one  of  the  churches  of  the  town,  the 
minister  expressed  the  abhorrence  of  the  people  of  the  late 
Confederacy  towards  such  acts,  and  spoke  in  praise  of 
President  Lincoln,  declaring  that  the  South  had  lost  a 
friend.  At  this  time  the  people  thereabouts,  in  conver 
sation,  said  that  they  supposed  there  would  be  a  general 
confiscation  of  their  property  by  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment,  and  they  would  not  be  convinced  to  the  contrary 
that  the  people  of  the  North  were  so  leniently  disposed 
that  the  authorities  could  not  possibly  have  such  intention, 
at  least  in  regard  to  the  common  people.  On  the  nine 
teenth,  minute  guns  were  fired  in  honor  of  the  martyr 
President  at  the  hour  of  his  funeral ;  the  bands  played 
solemn  dirges,  crape  was  draped  upon  the  colors  of  the 
regiments  and  worn  upon  the  swords  of  the  officers,  and 
grief  was  generally  expressed  among  the  troops. 

While  we  were  at  Farmville  several  promotions  were 
announced  :  First  Lieutenants  Patch  and  Bent  to  be  cap 
tains ;  Second  Lieutenants  Calder,  Ellis,  Chamberlin  and 
Alfred  Blanchard,  junior,  and  Sergeant-Major  Hagan, 
became  first  lieutenants ;  and  Sergeants  Monk,  Tirrell, 
Kimball  and  Sherman  were  made  second  lieutenants. 
Lieutenant  Blanchard  joined,  having  passed  the  winter  in 
prison  at  Salisbury  and  Danville.  The  vacancy  made 
by  the  promotion  of  Hagan  was  filled  after  he  was  mus 
tered  to  his  new  rank  by  the  appointment  of  First  Sergeant 
Bagley  to  be  sergeant-major. 

The  return  march  was  begun  on  the  twentieth,  and  was 
pushed  rapidly,  over  good  roads  and  with  light  hearts, 
making  eighteen  miles  the  first  day  between  Farmville  and 
Burkville  Junction,  and  passing  on  the  road  several  of  our 
late  enemies,  now  fellow-citizens,  at  work  ploughing  their 
fields,  their  families  happy  at  the  prospect  of  peace,  and 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  400 

hopeful  of  the  future.  On  the  twenty-first,  eighteen  miles 
more  to  beyond  Blacks  and  Whites  Station,  and  on  the 
twenty-second,  twenty-one  miles  to  near  Church  Road. 
On  the  twenty-third,  we  reached  Petersburg  early,  and 
went  into  camp  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  Sunday,  on  Cemetery 
Ridge,  overlooking  the  city  and  the  miles  of  siege-works 
which  had  so  long  been  our  abiding  place.  Many  spent 
the  afternoon  examining  the  Confederate  lines  from  Fort 
Steadman  around  through  the  Crater  to  Fort  Sedgwick. 
Between  the  fortifications  was  lying  the  debris  of  the  past 
year's  work,  a  collection  of  old  iron  and  lead,  in  the  shape 
of  shells  and  shot  of  all  forms  and  sizes.  At  the  Crater 
the  difficulties  of  the  place  for  an  assault  were  commented 
upon.  Lieutenant  Berry's  grave  was  pointed  out,  between 
lines,  and  a  head-board  erected  to  mark  the  spot.  The 
Confederates  had  cut  a  new  intrenchment  through  the 
Crater,  and  fortified  it  with  great  art ;  in  doing  so  they  had 
necessarily  thrown  out  the  bones  of  the  men  buried  in  the 
earth  raised  by  the  explosion,  and  these  were  now  bleach 
ing  in  the  sun,  with  old  caps,  shoes  and  accoutrements, 
relics  of  the  battle.  Away  to  the  left,  opposite  Fort  Sedg 
wick,  the  complex  structure  of  the  defences  was  inspected 
about  Fort  Mahone ;  and  in  one  bomb-proof  was  discovered 
the  body  of  a  Confederate  soldier  still  unburied,  except 
that  cover,  reposing  as  if  asleep,  where  he  had  crawled 
away  to  die  on  that  eventful  second  of  April  —  he  had 
found  the  peace  which  hath  no  ending. 

Next  day,  the  twenty-fourth,  the  regiment  passed  through 
Fort  Steadman  and  proceeded  to  City  Point,  remaining 
there  two  days  waiting  for  transportation.  A  number  of 
released  prisoners  met  the  regiment  at  this  place  ;  several 
of  them  Germans,  who,  dressed  in  butternut  clothing  and 
with  long  hair,  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  simon- 
pure  Johnnies  until  they  opened  their  mouths  to  speak ; 


401  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

they  were  eager  to  get  on  blue  suits  again.  While  thus 
returning  to  salt  water  we  had  some  expectations  of  visit 
ing  North  Carolina  and  seeing  Sherman  again,  but  our  desti 
nation  was  now  disclosed ;  General  Parke  had  been  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  District  of  Washington,  as  senior 
corps  commander,  and  we  were  to  accompany  him  for  a  little 
garrison  duty  —  the  long  promised  "soft  thing"  at  last! 

On  the  twenty-sixth,  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  we  em 
barked  on  the  steamer  Nereus  with  the  Seventh  Rhode 
Island,  Thirty-Ninth  New  Jersey  and  Fifty-First  New  York, 
crowding  the  boat  most  uncomfortably,  and  on  the  follow 
ing  day  voyaged  down  the  James,  passing  our  old  camp  at 
Newport  News  and  Fortress  Monroe  about  noon,  and 
lying  at  anchor  all  night  off  Point  Lookout.  Early  on  the 
twenty-eighth  we  were  on  the  way  up  the  Potomac,  landing 
at  noon  at  Alexandria,  and  marching  through  King  Street 
to  camp  outside  of  old  Fort  Ellsworth,  in  a  green  valley. 
We  moved  on  the  twenty-ninth  to  the  Mount  Vernon  road 
beyond  Forts  Lyon  and  Farnsworth,  and  laid  out  a  regular 
camp,  which  we  occupied  for  the  remaining  weeks  of  our 
service.  During  the  passage  from  City  Point,  one  man,  Con 
rad  Eggas,  of  Company  F,  was  lost  overboard  and  drowned ; 
he  was  supposed  to  have  fallen  in  the  night  through  the 
opening  in  the  side  railing  left  for  the  lowering  of  boats. 

General  Johnston  had  surrendered  to  General  Sherman, 
April  26th,  near  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  instead  of  at 
Jackson,  Mississippi,  as  we  had  hoped  in  1863.  The  Con 
federate  forces  made  no  further  resistance,  the  war  was 
ended,  and  it  only  remained  to  keep  the  peace  for  awhile 
until  the  country  became  settled,  then  to  disband  the 
armies.  Meanwhile,  to  keep  the  men  out  of  mischief, 
drills  were  resumed,  and  the  old  routine,  but  the  exercises 
had  lost  interest;  the  labor  seemed  too  purposeless  to  be 
gone  through  with  much  of  the  old  "  snap  "  and  desire  for 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  402 

excellence.  Colonel  Carruth  was  in  command  of  the 
brigade  during  most  of  the  time,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Hudson  commanded  the  regiment.  Wall  tents  and  A  tents 
were  isssued,  and  the  camps  presented  a  neat  and  attract 
ive  appearance  to  the  throngs  of  visitors  who  came  over 
from  Washington  to  have  a  look  at  the  veterans.  Brigade 
dress-parades,  with  field  officers  mounted,  were  held  daily, 
and  frequent  division  and  brigade  reviews.  Detailed  officers 
and  men  came  back,  swelling  the  ranks  quite  noticeably. 
On  the  twelfth  of  May,  there  was  an  impromptu  torchlight 
procession,  started  by  some  of  the  men  of  the  Seventh 
Rhode  Island,  but  spreading  from  regiment  to  regiment. 
The  following  account  appeared  in  a  Washington  paper : 

"  A  MAGNIFICENT  SIGHT.  —  Between  eight  and  nine 
o'clock  last  night  we  witnessed  one  of  the  grandest  and 
most  imposing  spectacles  it  has  ever  been  our  good  fortune 
to  look  upon  —  a  dress-parade  of  two  divisions  of  the  Ninth 
Corps  by  lamp  light.  This  splendid  corps  is  encamped  on 
the  high  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Lyon,  where  it  is 
being  daily  joined  by  members  of  other  corps  belonging 
to  the  old  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

"  Each  soldier  had  a  lamp  or  candle  fastened  in  the 
socket  of  his  musket — a  good  substitute  for  a  candlestick. 
The  line  formed  was  something  over  a  mile  in  length,  and, 
as  it  performed  the  different  evolutions  incidental  to 
reviews,  presented,  at  a  distance,  more  the  appearance  of 
a  great  sea  of  moving  fire  than  anything  else.  The  moving 
and  constantly  shifting  lights,  the  thousands  of  camp  fires, 
which  dotted  the  hills  for  miles  in  every  direction,  and  the 
sweet  music  of  several  splendid  bands,  formed  a  scene 
which  is  not  often  witnessed." 

On  the  twentieth  of  May,  Major  Mirick  returned  from 
detached  service,  also  Captain  Creasey  from  the  Parole 


403  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Camp  at  Annapolis,  and  our  old  comrade,  Quartermaster 
Upton,  made  a  visit  of  a  few  days. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  May  news  was  received  that  all 
regiments  whose  term  of  enlistment  would  expire  before 
October  ist,  1865,  were  to  be  mustered  out  at  once;  this 
included  the  Thirty-Fifth,  and  was  heard  with  joy  by  the 
boys,  who  were  already  weary  of  the  monotony  of  camp 
life ;  the  recruits  were  to  be  transferred  to  regiments  not 
included  within  the  terms  of  the  order. 

Preparations  were  made,  the  same  day,  for  participating 
in  the  grand  review  of  all  the  armies  at  Washington.  On 
the  twenty-second  the  brigade  marched  by  way  of  Alex 
andria  and  the  Long  Bridge  to  the  city  of  Washington,  and 
went  into  bivouac  in  the  streets  or  open  lots  in  the  front, 
or  east  side,  of  the  capitol,  with  the  rest  of  the  Ninth 
Corps ;  the  whole  Army  of  the  Potomac  being  at  hand, 
assembled  to  take  part  in  the  review. 

The  number  of  muskets  in  the  ranks,  next  morning,  was 
three  hundred  and  eighteen.  Colonel  Carruth  commanded 
the  brigade,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hudson  the  regiment. 
Column  was  formed  before  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of 
the  twenty-third,  and,  at  noon,  with  orders  to  keep  closed 
up  very  compactly  —  which  while  it  gave  the  appearance  of 
great  solidity  forfeited  all  freedom  of  motion  —  the  march  in 
review  was  commenced  :  by  the  imposing  capito]  — where, 
upon  the  east  portico,  the  school  children  were  gathered 
and  sang  patriotic  songs ;  down  the  broad  Pennsylvania 
Avenue  —  our  thoughts  wandering  back  the  while  to  that 
sunny  afternoon  in  August,  1862,  when,  with  full  ranks 
and  unbounded  enthusiasm,  we  took  the  first  steps  in  the 
rough  march  of  years  which  was  to  end  here ;  on  by  the 
Treasury  Building,  the  throngs  of  happy  faces  and  plaudits 
of  the  people ;  by  the  White  House,  where  the  President 
and  all  the  government  officers,  civil  and  military,  were 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  404 

looking  on,  and  were  saluted  with  cheers  and  shouldered 
arms ;  and  so  to  Georgetown  and  across  the  Potomac  by  a 
specially  laid  pontoon-bridge  to  the  Virginia  side  again. 
We  returned  to  camp  by  way  of  Arlington,  Freedmen's 
Village,  near  our  old  Camp  Whipple,  and  the  Seminary. 

The  day  following,  those  who  were  lucky  enough  to 
obtain  passes  visited  Washington  and  witnessed  the  review 
of  General  Sherman's  veterans,  who  had  been  marched  all 
the  way  from  Chattanooga,  by  way  of  Atlanta,  and  the 
"  March  to  the  Sea."  All  day  they  poured  down  the 
avenue,  a  flood  of  blue  surmounted  by  waves  of  glittering 
steel.  A  finer  host  of  men  was  never  seen  together;  and 
they  were,  probably,  more  purely  American  than  the  troops 
which  had  passed  in  review  the  day  before.  The  review 
was  the  grandest  military  triumph  which  ever  took  place, 
or  will  be  likely  to  occur  for  years  —  let  us  hope  for  ages 
—  upon  this  continent;  and  it  was  a  fitting  termination  of 
the  long  strife  just  ended. 

On  the  fifth  of  June  we  had  a  review  of  the  First  Brigade, 
complimentary  to  our  brigadier-general,  John  I.  Curtin, 
formerly  Colonel  of  the  Forty-Fifth  Pennsylvania.  For 
days  we  were  busy  upon  the  muster-out  rolls,  of  which 
seven  copies  had  to  be  made,  and  the  transfer  rolls  of  the 
recruits,  who  were  to  go  to  the  historic  Twenty-Ninth 
Massachusetts  Regiment,  There  were  for  transfer  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  men  present,  with  whom  went  eleven 
officers  :  Captains  Tobey,  Gottlieb,  Mason,  Bent  and  Patch, 
Assistant  Surgeon  Carr,  First  Lieutenants  Lloyd,  Ellis  and 
Hagan,  and  Second  Lieutenants  Tirrell  and  Sherman.  It 
is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  add,  as  evidence  that  our  German 
recruits  had  been  well  treated  by  us,  that  they  expressed 
the  wish  to  be  transferred  to  the  regiment  to  which  their 
officers  could  go  with  them.  The  officers  who  remained 
to  be  mustered  out  with  the  Thirty-Fifth  were  Colonel 
28 


405  HISTORY    OF    THE    THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

Carruth,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Hudson,  Major  Mirick, 
Surgeon  Snow,  Assistant  Surgeon  Roche,  Captains  Pope, 
Nason  and  Wright.  First  Lieutenants  Cutter  (quarter 
master),  Cobb  (acting  adjutant),  Worcester,  Hardy  and 
Calder,  Second  Lieutenants  Riggs,  Blanchard,  White, 
Kimball  and  Monk ;  of  these,  the  three  first  named, 
Carruth,  Hudson  and  Mirick,  were  all  that  remained  of 
officers  who  were  with  the  regiment  at  Lynnfield.  The 
number  of  enlisted  men,  original  members,  to  be  mustered 
out,  was  about  three  hundred,  counting  both  the  present 
and  absent.  Several  members  of  the  regiment  received 
honorary  commissions  to  rank  in  which  they  were  never 
mustered ;  First  Lieutenant  Cobb  to  be  captain,  Second 
Lieutenants  Monk,  Tirrell  and  Kimball  to  be  first  lieuten 
ants,  Commissary  Sergeant  Plummer,  Sergeant  W.  S. 
Conant,  First  Sergeants  S.  D.  Grimes,  W.  J.  Fitts,  John  L. 
Smith  and  John  A.  Reynolds  to  be  second  lieutenants.* 

On  the  ninth  of  June,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
Lieutenant  Rose,  the  mustering  officer,  mustered  the 
Thirty-Fifth  Regiment  out  of  the  United  States  service. 
At  six  o'clock  the  transferred  officers  and  men  took  up  the 
line  of  march  for  their  new  command,  after  much  hand 
shaking  and  many  good  wishes.  Spending  one  more  night 
in  the  open  air,  we  broke  camp  on  the  tenth  for  the  last 
time,  for  the  journey  home  ;  the  Seventh  Rhode  Island 
going  with  us.  Colonel  Pleasants,  of  the  Forty-Eighth 
Pennsylvania,  addressed  the  men  in  words  of  which  the 
copy  is  now  lost ;  but  they  were  to  the  effect  that  now  the 
old  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  being  dissolved,  we  should 

*  Sergeant  Marcus  M.  Haskell,  of  Company  C,  and  Sergeant  Henry  W.  Tisdale, 
of  Company  I,  were  recommended  to  the  Secretary  of  War  by  General  Parke,  in 
1865,  for  Medals  of  Honor  for  distinguished  bravery  in  action,  as  appears  by  the 
records  of  the  war  department,  but  the  medals  were  never  received  by  them.  The 
medal  conferred  upon  Sergeant  F.  M.  Whitman,  of  Company  G.  has  been  referred  to 
in  the  account  of  the  battle  of  Antietam. 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  406 

strive  to  prove  that  good  soldiers  in  war  make  the  best  of 
citizens  in  peace,  to  remember  the  old  corps,  and  our 
comrades  from  other  states.  The  Fifty-Eighth  Massa 
chusetts,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Whiton,  with  the  brigade 
band,  acted  as  escort  as  far  as  the  wharf  at  Alexandria, 
and  with  hearty  cheers,  reiterated  again  and  again,  we 
parted  from  the  brigade. 

Conveyed  to  Washington  by  the  Keyport,  we  waited 
near  the  capitol  all  day  for  transportation,  which  was 
difficult  to  obtain,  so  many  troops  were  departing  for  the 
North.  We  got  off  towards  evening,  marched  across 
Baltimore  at  midnight,  and  arrived  in  Philadelphia  next 
day  at  noon.  Again  we  were  entertained  at  the  Cooper's 
Shop  Saloon,  as  kindly  now  our  work  was  done  as  in  years 
before  when  it  yet  lay  before  us.  A  special  order  of  thanks 
was  entered  upon  the  books  of  the  saloon  by  the  colonel's 
direction.  Will  any  soldier  ever  forget  the  kindness  mani 
fested  in  that  noble  institution  of  the  City  of  Brotherly  Love ! 

Thence,  by  ferry  and  rail,  we  pursued  our  way  to  New 
York.  At  all  the  large  towns  and  cities,  on  the  route 
through  New  Jersey,  the  stations  and  streets  were  filled 
with  people,  waving  hats,  handkerchiefs  and  bunting ;  even 
in  the  country  the  people  ran  out  to  wave  a  welcome  to 
the  returning  soldiers.  The  men  of  the  regiments  covered 
the  tops  of  the  cars,  displaying  their  flags  and  returning 
the  greetings  with  never-ending  enthusiasm.  That  beautiful 
June  Sunday  was  a  grand  ovation  all  the  way  into  New  York. 

The  regiments  marched  down  Broadway  to  the  barracks 
on  the  Battery  and  were  provided  for  by  Colonel  Howe, 
our  gentlemanly  State  Agent  in  New  York.  There  the 
Seventh  Rhode  Island,  mindful  of  Jackson,  Miss.,  and  our 
common  quarters  in  Fort  Sedgwick,  announced  that  they 
were  to  receive  a  formal  reception  by  the  people  of  Provi 
dence,  and  invited  the  Thirty-Fifth  to  participate ;  the 


407  HISTORY    OF    THE   THIRTY-FIFTH    REGIMENT, 

invitation  was  repeated  by  the  state   authorities  in  Provi 
dence  and,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  was  gladly  accepted.   The 
steamboat  Oceanus  transported  the  regiments  to  Providence 
by  Tuesday  morning,  June  13,  a  bright  day;  but  let  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Hudson  tell  how  magnificently  the  two  regi 
ments  were  greeted  and  treated  there ;  he  wrote  as  follows  : 
"  Disembarking  from  the  steamer,  we  were  escorted  by 
a  regiment  of  militia  through  the  principal  streets,  which 
were  beautified  by  throngs  of  the  fairest  ladies,  and  having 
marched  past  the  home  of   General  Burnside  (where  our 
beloved  leader  sat  on  the  porch  to  welcome  us),  halted  at 
a  commodious  hall.     Here  we  were  welcomed  in  a  brief 
speech  by  Hon.  Mr.   Paine,  in  the  presence  of  Governor 
Smith  and  other  officials  of  the  state,  and  invited  to  an 
abundant  and  elegant  repast.     A  little  more  than  half  of 
Mr.  Paine's   speech  was   addressed  to  the    Seventh.     He 
then  said,  'Soldiers  of  Massachusetts,  we  tender  to  you 
the  same  kind  welcome  which  we  have  prepared  for  our 
own  returning  heroes.     We  cannot  forget  that  while,  in  the 
struggle  for  national  existence,  your  gallant  state  has  been 
behind  none  other  in  the  clash  of  arms,  she  has  been  con 
fessedly  the   foremost  in   all    those    moral    achievements 
which  convert  the  victory  you  have  won  over  the  enemy 
in  the  field  into  a  triumph  of  humanity  everywhere  over 
cruelty  and  wrong.'     The   Morris   Brothers  happening  to 
be  the  lessees  of  the  hall  at  the  time,  drew  the  curtain  and 
sang  a  patriotic  song  as  we  feasted,  and  we  left  our  old 
commander  and  our  entertainers  with  full   hearts.     The 
demonstration  in  Providence  was  in  all  respects  beautiful. 
We  should  have  appreciated  it  no  less  had  it  been  within 
the  territorial  limits  of  our  own  loved  commonwealth.     It 
was  the  last  time  our  drums  ever  beat  together." 

After  this  warm  reception  we  took  the  cars  upon  the  Bos 
ton  and  Providence  Railroad,  Company  G  being  left  behind 


MASSACHUSETTS    VOLUNTEERS.  408 

by  an  unexpected  starting  of  the  train,  and  after  a  quick 
passage,  got  off  at  Readville,  where  A  tents  were  issued 
and  pitched  until  the  regiment  could  be  paid  off.  This 
stop  at  Readville  disappointed  the  members  of  the  regi 
ment  sorely,  for  they  had  expected  to  greet  their  friends, 
as  a  regiment,  in  Boston  ;  but  the  old  saying,  "  We  will 
make  this  all  right  when  we  get  on  to  Boston  Common," 
was  not  fulfilled  —  the  regiment  never  marched  into  that 
sacred  enclosure.  It  would  have  been  a  much  pleasanter 
ending  of  our  career  if  the  regiment  could  have  marched 
to  the  State  House  and  surrendered  their  colors,  even  in 
the  most  informal  manner,  into  the  hands  of  the  state 
authorities,  upon  the  spot  where  they  received  them  when 
starting  for  the  war.  The  various  cities  and  towns  gave 
receptions  to  all  their  returned  soldiers  upon  days 
appointed  for  the  purpose,  in  a  hearty  and  generous  man 
ner,  but  accounts  of  these  ceremonies  belong  rather  to 
company  histories  than  to  this  narrative. 

On  the  twenty-seventh  of  June  the  men  were  paid  off 
and  received  their  certificates  of  discharge  at  Readville, 
and  the  term  of  service  of  the  Thirty-Fifth  Regiment  was 
ended.  With  joyous  alacrity  we  threw  off  the  grinding 
shackles  of  military  discipline,  and  turned  away  from 
scenes  where  the  life  so  dear  to  every  man  was  constantly 
endangered ;  yet  not  without  a  fond  regret,  for  no  one 
can  make  a  change  from  any  course  of  life,  however 
humble,  much  less  from  one  where  great  deeds,  great 
thoughts  and  noble  friendships  were  constantly  encoun 
tered,  without  a  softening  of  the  heart  towards  the  incidents 
of  those  years  of  perilous  duty. 

"  O,  now,  forever 

Farewell  the  plumed  troop,  and  the  big  wars, 
That  make  ambition  virtue  !     O,  farewell ! 
Farewell  the  neighing  steed,  and  the  shrill  trump, 


409     HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTY-FIFTH  REGT.,  MASS.  VOLS. 

The  spirit-stirring  drum,  the  ear-piercing  fife, 
The  royal  banner,  and  all  quality, 
Pride,  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious  war ! 
And,  O  you  mortal  engines,  whose  rude  throats 
The  immortal  Jove's  dread  clamours  counterfeit 
Farewell !  " 

After  a  few  days  of  holiday  we  commenced  anew  the 
peaceful  labors  of  the  life  of  a  citizen,  and  cares  of  business 
and  family  have  gradually  dimmed  the  memory  of  the 
scenes  we  have  endeavored  to  record,  until  they  seem  like 
impossible  dreams,  save,  perhaps,  to  those  whose  broken 
frames  or  impaired  health  connect  the  present  with  the  past. 
To  the  surviving  members  of  the  old  regiment,  wherever 
scattered  and  to  whatever  fortune  called,  we  send  our  greet 
ing  and  benediction  :  summoned  to  face  the  hazards  of  war 
at  a  time  of  deep  discouragement  and  peril  to  the  nationr 
they  have  lived  to  see  that  country,  already  the  wonder  of 
the  world,  stepping  forward  unitedly  toward  a  future  which 
we  fondly  hope  will  prove  the  brightest  examplar  yet  seen 
of  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  nobility  of  man. 

And  for  our  country,  for  which  so  many  sacrifices  were 
made,  what  more  fitting  words  can  we  find  than.these :  — 

"  O  Beautiful !     My  Country  !  ours  once  more  ! 
Smoothing  thy  gold  of  war-dishevelled  hair 
O'er  such  sweet  brows  as  never  other  wore 
And  letting  thy  set  lips 
Freed  from  wrath's  pale  eclipse, 
The  rosy  edges  of  their  smile  lay  bare, 
What  words  divine  of  lover  or  of  poet 
Could  tell  our  love  and  make  thee  know  it, 
Among  the  Nations  bright  beyond  compare  ? 
What  were  our  lives  without  thee  ? 
What  all  our  lives  to  save  thee  ? 
We  reck  not  what  we  gave  thee  ; 
We  will  not  dare  to  doubt  thee, 
But  ask  whatever  else,  and  we  will  dare !  '* 


ROSTER. 


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1 

TERMINATION  OF  SERVICE,  REMARKS,  ETC. 

In  every  engagement  the  regiment  participated  in;  C 
'63;  Sergt.  Oct.,  '63;  Color  Sergt.  and  First  Sergt. 
ex.  of  serv.,  June  9,  1865. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam,  and  injured  by  shell;  dis.  Nov 
'62,  for  disability. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam,  and  wounded  in  thigh  ;  dis. 
17,  '63,  for  wounds. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam;  detailed  in  Ambulance  Corps; 
May  22,  '63,  for  disability. 
Fredericksburg,  Knoxville,  Cold  Harbor  and  Petersbt 

Corp.  June,  64;  bergt.  Aug.,  64;  taken  prisoner 
confined  in  Castle  Thunder;  ex.  of  serv.,  June  9,  '65. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam;  drowned  at  Falmouth,  Va., 
23,  '63;  buried  at  Nat'l  Cemetery,  Fredericksburg,  div 
sect.  3,  grave  140. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam,  and  wounded  in  hand;  su 
quently  served  in  4oth  N.  Y.  l1Ht. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam  ;  dis.  June  29,  '65,  at  Washing 
D.  C.  ;  died  Dec.,  '77;  buried  in  Newburyport. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam;  Corp.  '63;  died  at  Camp  Nel 
Ky.,  Dec.  n,  '63  ;  buried  at  Newburyport. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam,  and  wounded;  dis.  Nov.  20,  '62 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam,  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  c 
paigns  ;  Spottsylvania,  Cold  Harbor  and  Petersburg  ; 
of  serv.,  June  9,  '65. 
So.  Mountain  ;  Corp.  '62  ;  Fredericksburg,  and  wounc 
transf.  to  Co.  K,  igth  V.  R.  C.;  dis.  Aug.  n,  '65. 
So.  Mountain,  Antietam;  dis.  Oct.  28,  '63,  for  disability. 
Clerk  at  Div  Hd.  Qtrs.  Sept..  '62;  taken  prisoner  Jan., 
exchanged  May,  '64;  ex.  of  serv.,  June  9,  '65. 
Left  at  Arlington;  dis.  Dec.  21,  '62,  for  disability. 
Left  at  Arlington  '62  ;  dis.  Nov.  15,  '62,  for  disability. 

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